Crimson's Mission
by TommyOliverMMPRFan
Summary: Latest story in the Project Phoenix series. With the defeat of the Nighlok, Jayden feels his time as a Ranger is over...until he learns of his true heritage and history. Some time later, an unfortunate stroke of fate allows for the invasion of Maligore's army...led by Jayden's mother. Will Jayden fulfill his improbable mission, or does the Earth finally fall for good?
1. 1: Deker Defeated, Cole Cleansed

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. But to claim his destiny and face his mother, he must first advance past battles against Deker as well as Master Xandred. This is the final fight with Deker...with a slight Ninjetti twist. Also includes appearances from some of Zordon's Rangers.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat (Usually I go with Jase/Trini and Billy/Kat but they can be interchanged and with the way this series goes I think Jase/Kat and Billy/Trini is a better way), Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me. Oh and as one last note, as a resident of the USA, I would like to wish our Canadian friends a happy Thanksgiving weekend.

Chapter 1: Deker Defeated, Cole Cleansed

 **May 12, 2012**

 **2:30 p.m. local time**

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

They were all watching on screen, every one of them. And their blood was running cold.

Who were they, you asked?

A legacy, and a family, that Jayden, the ex-Red Ranger of the Samurai team, had no clue of.

All of them.

In the Ranger world, news got out like wildfire. The second that word had got out that Jayden was fighting a cursed former Red Ranger, everyone had stopped what they were doing, taken their kids to Angela Taylor who they all knew would look after their kids during Ranger crises and then they'd all rushed to the Lair.

And at the moment, they were all scared to death as they watched Jayden square off with Deker. But Tommy, Jason and most every Red in the room, knew him as Cole.

Oh they'd watched Jayden from afar, for sure, in particular everyone who had gone to Phaedos...except that one. Jayden was resilient, doing the thankless task of standing in for his adopted sister, who it was believed was the only one that could seal Master Xandred permanently. Now, she was back, and Jayden was out in the cold.

Tommy had been right to also keep his eyes on Mia; as it turned out, she had feelings for Jayden. He was going to get some help in that regard too if the Samurai Rangers survived this; Mia had been accepted to a cooking school run by Rocky, of all people. It was a small, small world sometimes.

Not to mention, to add to Jayden's problems, had been homeschooled all his life which also wasn't fair. He'd never been behind the wheel of a car, had never had the benefit of going to a school like his aunts and uncles (and father and his similarly cursed mother) had. Every precaution had been taken to keep Jayden off the radar.

All of the Ninjetti felt it when the Phoenix had roared to life 24 hours ago when Jayden had survived Fiera.

However, as resilient as Jayden had turned out to be, this was his first real test. A fight to the death against an honorable (if there was such a thing) but relentless villain and a skilled former Ranger.

As Tommy watched helplessly while hearing Jayden tell Deker, "we have nothing in common," (which as it turned out would be a lie, and Tommy knew how much of a lie that was), he felt Aisha and Rocky attempt to comfort him, though if they were truly honest with themselves, they were feeling the same way he was.

"I know, it's tough, but he's resilient," Aisha said. "They're scared of him otherwise that slimy Octoroo would try to pick him off right now."

"One thing we can do, try to channel positive thoughts his way," Rocky said and turned to the rest of the group. "Not all of you are Ninjetti like some of us but you can help. Any positive thought helps."

"Agreed," Billy said from Aquitar; this, as it turned out, was requiring two screens because Billy was on one screen on a call, and they could see Jayden and Deker on the other. "It will take me a moment but let me start meditating."

"That's right," Jason said as he looked at his wife of 11 years, Katherine Scott. "Kat and I believe a positive approach is always best. Do any of you who were on that island remember what Quagmire told us?"

From the back of the room, the Mystic Mother shivered just a bit because as Rita Repulsa, that had been her creation to destroy the first Power Team, the Island of Illusion. Thank God for Quagmire and a Ranger team that grew up fast.

"To keep from getting caught, think a positive thought," Trini said. "That's IT!"

"Yep, positive thoughts everyone," Tommy said, as he specifically looked at those who had gone to Phaedos with him, "Especially you, you, you and you. We'll get him through this."

"I know one thing, the world will be a better place without you, Deker," they heard Jayden say at that very moment. "It's time to finish this, once and for all."

They saw Jayden draw his sword, and Deker ready Urumasa. The fight, and Jayden's first true test, had really begun.

"Ninjetti, let's help him," Tommy said as he motioned to the three known as the Stone Canyon Trio. Billy also readied himself from planets away.

"Ninjetti! The Bear!"

"The Ape!"

"The Frog!"

"The Wolf!"

"The Falcon!"

"We call to the Sacred Animals of the Great Power! Help The Phoenix and give him the strength to survive this test!"

Moments later, the lair was suddenly filled with a pink light and Tommy's mouth dropped open in shock. A ghostly figure appeared before everyone.

"Is that.." Jason muttered.

"No way," Justin said.

"Kim!" Tommy gasped.

"Hi guys," she said. For the moment, this wasn't the evil half of Kimberly that had wrecked worlds. This was just regular old Kimberly Ann Hart.

"What are you doing here?" Rocky said. "Don't you realize you're doing a dangerous thing?"

"Relax, Ape Boy, don't worry my evil half is busy with petty obsessions, so my Maligore half has no idea what I'm doing. Pretty convenient timing for my Maligore half to not be paying attention," 'Kim' said.

Ninjor looked like he was about to protest but 'Kim' looked at him and said, "Dulcea came and told me what was going on also. By her decree, my son, OUR son," she looked at Tommy as she said this, "must be kept alive at all costs."

"I'm here for the same reason we're all here. To give Jayden the strength to end this ridiculous charade and bring Cole home where he belongs," 'Kim' added. "My Crane spirit is weak but received a boost when Jayden beat Fiera. I have enough power to help but my spirit will be weaker for some time after this."

"Indeed, Rangers," the voice of Dulcea echoed as she suddenly appeared in ethereal form. "Back in 1997 when I had Kimberly surrender to Maligore, young Jayden wasn't even two years old and would have been vulnerable should Maligore have found out about him. Things are different now. Maligore's control, while still tight, is distracted right now and Jayden is old enough to fight for himself. We must help him."

"In addition, Handsome, here," Kim said as she looked at Tommy, "did a very wise thing when he asked the Sentinel Knight to keep my evil half's army away from Earth until Jayden is ready. As long as the Knight lives, neither my evil Maligore half nor any evil force can invade Earth from the outside."

"And in addition, Dulcea can conduce what we are doing, so as to dissuade my evil half from suspecting anything. If the powers that I use run through Dulcea it will be more difficult for Maligore's control to detect," Kim finished.

"If Jayden dies tonight, all our hope dies. Young Crane, do it," Dulcea ordered as her ethereal form disappeared.

"Ninjetti! The Crane!" 'Kim' said without a moment's hesitation. "Help the Phoenix end this fight and bring Cole home once and for all!"

As soon as she said this, six beams of light flew out from the lair; white, slightly darker pink, red, black, blue and yellow and all headed towards the site of the final duel currently taking place 90 miles away.

 **8:00 p.m.**

 **Panorama City, CA**

It felt like he'd been fighting Deker for hours, and he had no idea how he was still going

Every part, emphasis on every part, of Jayden's body hurt. He also felt the same power which had protected him against Fiera, only stronger this time. He had felt like he was on fire from the outset of the fight, and the fire hadn't subsided, in fact it felt stronger than it had in the fight with Fiera.

He also felt an unseen power (and Jayden could have sworn he felt several) near the fight that seemed to be helping give him unending strength. At least, enough strength to continue the fight.

He felt Urumasa slash him twice, and knew this had to end one way or another.

His body hurt, but still, he used his sword to stand up, and saw Deker attacking again. But this time, in a display of unfathomable skill for a guy who was dead tired, he turned Urumasa to the side and slashed Deker, then slashed Urumasa, causing Deker to lose his grip.

"This ends now!" Jayden said and with every ounce of strength provided him, hammered Deker with his sword, causing a massive fireball. As it turned out, that fireball exploded right as Mia, Emily and Mike arrived. They hadn't known where to go at first, but they'd found a trail lit by six different colored lights; white, dark pink, blue, black, yellow and red.

The trio who had gone out after Jayden didn't know where the lights had come from, but upon seeing Jayden's Samurai teammates they had morphed into six distinctly different animals; a Falcon, Crane, Wolf, Frog, Bear and Ape. They hadn't figured out what this was all about but they heard a voice saying the animals before them would lead them to Jayden and sure enough they had.

When they got there, they found the two combatants surrounded by a hellacious ring of fire. Inexplicably, Jayden was back on his feet first, how they had no clue. They had no idea that the same power that had drawn them here, was the same power feeding their teammate positive thoughts as he attempted to end this grueling, classic duel once and for all.

A similarly powerful group of people 90 minutes away were in disbelief too (including one from a planet light years away). Even with the Ninjetti watching over Jayden and Dulcea conducting their powers, they couldn't believe Jayden had the ability to stand up after taking such a beating.

The Samurais pleaded, and Dahlia in spirit, pleaded for both combatants to stop. Both, as expected, refused to yield. One thing the Samurais and Jayden found interesting was that Deker, at least the Deker now, seemed to have no loyalty to Dayu or whatever this woman was, a woman that whoever Deker was had once loved.

That story would have to wait for another time. One thing was clear, Deker was going to see this fight through although Jayden was a little more reluctant and after much thought, decided enough was enough and that Deker had enough. He walked towards the ring that surrounded him and away from Deker, not realizing Deker was preparing for an ambush.

Jayden suddenly turned around and realized his mistake as Deker, in Nighlok form, was coming straight at him prepared to strike.

 **'I am sorry, Cole, but this is the way it has to be,'** thought the dormant bird inside of Jayden. Acting as if it had a mind of its own, the big, majestic, crimson colored bird flew right out of Jayden and seared Deker with a fire based attack, just as Kevin released a water based attack that seared through the ring of fire and destroyed Urumasa. The bird returned inside of Jayden as Deker demorphed from his Nighlok form, shocked by the double attack that had come from literally nowhere.

Ironically, Kevin was the one Ranger who had volunteered to stay with Lauren to protect Panorama City against the Nighlok. Now, he was the Ranger who had in part done so much more than he even realized.

Deker was down and did not get up again. As Jayden (who the Rangers had pulled from the fiery arena, although it would be revealed later that Jayden could have walked through it himself), Emily, Kevin, Mike and Mia watched, Deker's spirit vanished.

Unbeknownst to all of them, it wouldn't be the last time they would see the man now formerly known as Deker.

"His curse has finally been lifted," was all Jayden could manage to say. But still, the questions remained. How in the world had Jayden pulled that off, and did he even know what he just did? And in turn, Jayden wondered how in the world did his team find him in the first place?

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

 **Same Time**

As one, all Rangers who had watched this battle cheered.

But it was an exhausted cheer.

Ninjor was gone now, having gone back to the Temple of Power. Ninjor had told the Rangers that when Cole was free of the burden of Deker's curse, he would keep him in the Temple of Power for a while after. The curse that had been unwittingly dropped on Cole Evans had taken a toll on the one known as "The Rookie" as well as the entire family of Rangers.

As for the rest of the Rangers, they were exhausted. Beyond exhausted, especially the Ninjetti, who had been channeling positive thoughts to Jayden for going on six hours. It had been a grueling battle, and a draining experience for especially those who had watched it.

Kimberly's good half, almost assuredly, would be out for some time although it was not going to be as bad because Dulcea had engineered the whole deal.

At this point though, nobody cared. Jayden was battered, beaten and bruised, but was still alive. And that was all that mattered.

All hope for the world was still alive. Jayden David Oliver, although currently a Shiba by necessity and a prophecy, had passed his first major test with flying colors.

Two people who had watched the whole thing that weren't near as tired as the others were Jayden's godparents, Jason and Katherine Scott.

The two had hit it off somewhat when Jason had come home from Europe, and the seeds for their relationship had been planted during the crisis where Tommy had been brainwashed by Gasket even though both were with others at the time. The indelible beginning of their lives together though had happened after the Turbo fiasco where Jason had apologized to Kat for his actions, although he really didn't need to.

It had been cemented when Tommy and Kat had ended things at the end of their time as Turbo Rangers, knowing things just weren't going to work. Four years later, Jason and Kat had been married in Angel Grove and on that night, Kat had been briefed on Jayden and the reason Kim had surrendered to Maligore so easily.

Kat, who had once made life hell for her predecessor, felt so badly for what she'd gone through. None of it was her fault and while they were on their honeymoon, a lavish two week affair in Kat's home country of Australia, the first thing they vowed to do, some day, was to bring Kim home where she belonged for good.

Now, that promise, and being able to see their godchild, was a step closer to happening.

"I don't know about you, but that kid's got the right stuff, Jase. He doesn't know it yet, but I can feel it," Kat said.

"I'd have to agree," Jason said. "Rainbow ranger and the other holders of the Great Power gave him help, but no normal man would be able to form a coherent thought, much less stand after that beating he took."

Kat nodded in quick agreement. No way would she have been able to face an opponent like Deker for five hours, and she had been once upon a time a hopeful Pan-Global swimmer and swimmers were known to be some of the best conditioned athletes in the world.

"How do you think Technicolor's going to feel tomorrow?" Kat said.

"His legs are gonna feel like jello tomorrow and probably for the next couple days," Jason said. "It's too bad because if he weren't so tired he was going to watch Conner and Manchester City try to win the Premier League title."

Like most of the Rangers had suspected, Conner had eventually wound up playing in Europe in the Barclays Premier League, playing for a previously moribund Manchester City Football Club, having played for them since 2009. Since he'd become the centerpiece of their franchise, they had built up to this moment and could claim the Premier League tittle with a win over Queens Park Rangers tomorrow.

Between him and Kira's music success, the two had made millions of dollars and had a posh house in Redondo Beach when Conner was in the offseason.

"Yeah, it's too bad, but he's got that flat screen in his room. He'll try and watch it," Kat said. "Remember we're not out of the woods now. Xandred still has to be beaten."

Jason nodded grimly. It was true, Deker was still gone but Xandred still remained. As long as Xandred lived or wasn't sealed, Jayden could never reach his full potential.

"If he goes back to his teammates they can win," Jason said. "If Lauren seals Xandred they win and if for some reason it doesn't work, then Jayden can lean on that big bird. It beat Deker, it can beat Xandred. Everything's going to be fine, Kitty."

"I hope you're right, Jase," Kat said, but clearly she felt it wasn't over. And she was right.

 **Temple of Ninja Power**

 **Same Time**

In a flash, a man who showed the wear and tear of a long duel to the bitter end, appeared in a flash in this sacred place of power.

Much like his opponent, his body hurt all over too. There were cuts, scrapes, bruises and the man known as Cole Evans was even supporting a pretty good shiner.

Cole Evans could barely form coherent thoughts at the moment but a couple immediately came to mind.

One was...was he really free of that stupid curse, that stupid obligation?

And two, how in the world did that curse disappear in the first place?

One thing he knew for sure, that Jayden kid was like his father for sure...and probably his mother too if the word about his mother was true. Yes, he knew that Jayden was Tommy's kid...had been told a number of years ago.

Another thing was for sure, that kid was a freak. No mere mortal could stand like that for five and a half hours especially against a former Ranger with the powers of a Nighlok.

He knew where he was though, and knew who occupied this place.

"Easy there, Cole," a familiar voice said as Ninjor stood before him. "You took quite a beating in that fight."

"Ninjor, thank the heavens," Cole barely was able to say. "Please tell me I'm free."

"You are," Ninjor said. "That duel had to be fought, mainly because they only thing that could free you from such an unlucky curse is the dormant power the Red Samurai Ranger possesses."

"He is the Phoenix, the much talked about Phoenix?" Cole asked. It was the only way possible that Jayden could fight that long.

"Yes. And one day you will fight alongside him and save the world once more."

"Please tell me that Alyssa's OK, Ninjor. I need to see her."

"She is, and one day soon, you will go home and resume your normal life."

"I know this, I won't be able to go home until Master Xandred is beaten for good. Xandred is too powerful to be taken for granted."

"Xandred is tough but the Phoenix will be victorious, and you will have that chance. Have faith in the Phoenix. His destiny and his journey is just getting started."

"I hope Jayden can do it if Lauren cannot. I hope to fight by his side some day."

"He will, and you will. The Power of Ninja is greater than anything from the Sanzu River waters...always has been, always will be."

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	2. 2: Xandred Xterminated

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. But to claim his destiny and face his mother, he must first advance past battles against Deker as well as Master Xandred. The climactic finish vs Master Xandred is right here, includes scenes of the Samurai Rangers and various veteran Rangers as well.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 2: Xandred X-terminated

 **May 12, 2012**

 **10:30 p.m. local time**

 **Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Though he hadn't really thought about going back to the Shiba House after the fight, he was kind of glad his team had carried him "home." Clearly, they wanted him back on their team even though he had established that Lauren was the true leader. The last thing he wanted to do was sleep underneath a tree and risk breathing those awful fumes of smoke that were almost certainly still going on in the wake of that unbelievable fight with Deker.

How he was even able to walk under the current circumstances, he still failed to understand. Fiera had beat the crap out of him, and then 24 hours later, he'd waged a legendary fight with Deker. How he had the strength to be able to wage that fight was amazing in the first place.

He was currently back in his room, which was right next to Lauren's, and was drinking as much water as he possibly could. If there was anyone who needed hydration at this point, it was Jayden. He still felt warm, not like he had a fever or anything and he didn't feel like he was on fire like what happened in the fight with Deker, but still, he felt warm enough to break a sweat even in an air-conditioned climate.

What he didn't know was that one of the main parts of his dormant power was currently activated; his body was currently healing faster than most humans could. While his body was healing, his body would still feel warm.

He was also close enough to the front room that he could hear the conversations that were going on. In fact, he could hear his team...or what used to be his team...talk about that very thing.

"Is it you, or did you guys have a tough time willing Jayden back here last night?" Emily said. "I don't know about you, but I thought my hands were going to burn up."

"Same here," Mike said. "It felt like his whole body was on fire and that I'd burn up every time I touched him. Do any of you think he has a fever?"

"I don't think he has a fever, it didn't seem that way to me when he came in," Lauren said. "Tired, maybe, but I don't think he has a fever."

"The only thing I can tell you...is that Jayden will be fine. I am quite certain he does not have a fever," he heard Mentor Ji say. That made Jayden bristle just a bit.

It made him bristle because he knew Mentor Ji better than anyone, and knew how he acted. This seemed to be one of those moments where he knew something that nobody else did.

As soon as the fight with Xandred was over, he was going to make sure he found out whatever Mentor Ji was hiding.

At that point, Jayden wasn't worried too much about that though. He was way too tired.

"Do you think he'll come back to us and fight with us?" Mia said, more hopeful than anything else.

"I don't know," Mentor Ji said, conviction clearly lacing his voice this time. "You'll need to persuade him to fight with you again I think. I think he's very valuable but right now he feels Lauren is the leader."

Jayden gave a small smile. Clearly, Mia cared for him very much and Jayden knew he'd made a mistake not telling her how much he loved her...and he really did. He'd made the mistake of being so entrenched in his duty that he hadn't taken time enough to pay attention to that kind of stuff.

If they won this fight, he promised himself that was going to get corrected.

Those were the last thoughts before sleep claimed him for the evening. For today, he could hold his head high.

 **May 13, 2012**

 **3:30 p.m. local time**

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

The day should have been a final celebration for the safety of Jayden. For the fact that Xandred was sealed again, and they could all make plans to talk to Jayden about his true history...and prepare him for the eventual invasion that would take place.

All of that had given way to not just lack of celebration, but outright concern.

None of the older Rangers blamed Lauren. In fact, she'd done everything she'd been asked to do. Practiced the Sealing Symbol day and night. Came back to do her job. Executed the symbol to perfection.

Lauren was all class and deserved a better fate. To be quite frank, the entire Shiba family deserved better, the older Rangers thought. They'd taken Jayden in when Zedd and Rita were still out there, had helped fulfill their part of the prophecy, and this was the thanks they got.

Xandred was still alive.

Even after he was gone and Cole freed, the whole Deker/Dayu thing still haunted not only the Samurai team, but all past teams of Rangers who dreamed of Jayden joining them where they felt he truly belonged.

Xandred had pulled the ultimate coup thanks to Dayu; not only had Dayu's sadness at Deker's death brought Xandred into this world, but it was the absorbing of Dayu's energy that had kept him in it AND had protected him from the Sealing Symbol.

It was causing a lot of angry and sullen faces in Tommy's residence. Tommy himself was still somewhat tired after the events of last night (all the Ninjetti were to an extent) and now he was grouchy too. And no one liked being around Tommy Oliver when he was grouchy.

"I swear if I see Deker, the REAL Deker, in the afterlife, I'm going to kick his butt. I'm going to ask God himself if I can, but I'm going to beg and plead every day," Aisha DeSantos said sassily. "This whole thing is RIDICULOUS!"

"Lay off him, Sis," Trini said, trying to calm Aisha down though she knew it wasn't going to work. "If not for that Serrator guy to begin with we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Not everything is bad," Jason said, addressing everyone else. "He went back with his team. Even helped Lauren in that fight. Clearly, he's not making the decisions; the Phoenix is calling the shots."

"And he wisely teleported everyone out before Xandred could really do some damage," Tanya Park added. "He's fine, got the crap beat out of him but they all did. They have a day to come up with at least a strategy that could beat him."

"Yeah but let's be honest, what real chance do they have?" Jennifer Collins (who had been back in this time for nearly a decade and was married to Wes for about six years) said. "You all saw that fight. Ransik and Nadira were bad but I've never seen a villain exude such power. The Samurai are a great team but they were completely outclassed."

"I agree, if it were just the Samurai we should be worried a lot more," Rocky said. "But Jayden's got that big bird. My feeling is that's the only way that can destroy Xandred."

"Sadly, that's gotta be it," Tommy sighed. "Unfortunately, tomorrow is Monday so we're not going to be able to help him as much this time. He's going to have to do it on his own."

"And that's the scary part," Kat said. "He's only going to get one shot too, probably."

"Then he's going to have to make it count," Andros said.

 **Monday, May 14, 2012**

 **3:30 p.m. local time**

 **Panorama City, CA**

They'd done everything right, and yet it still seemingly wasn't enough.

Master Xandred truly was the slime that wouldn't die.

He'd survived being out of the Netherworld, not just survived but thrived thanks to Dayu's power.

Sealing Symbol? Wasn't enough. Lauren had done everything right, yet that same power kept Xandred alive.

First Shiba fire disc? Broken a long time ago by the big guy himself. After which he had thrashed the Rangers like they were insignificant bugs, then promised to find Lauren and make life hell for her. And Jayden more than anyone else knew how vulnerable Lauren could be.

Second Shiba Fire disc? Better, it had actually destroyed Xandred, the first time but in the end all it did was make him grow and piss him off.

Now the Zords were taking a beating, in fact Xandred's first two blows had thrown all six Rangers across the cockpit, and unless something was done fast, this truly was going to be the end of not only the Samurai team, but the world itself.

Jayden was desperate for ideas and was running out of them. Until his body started to heat up again. It was that roaring in his body again, that he couldn't explain.

 **'You and the other Rangers need to demorph, Jayden.'**

 ** _'If we demorph he'll clobber us!' Jayden thought._**

 **'It is the only way. You and your team must demorph and combine every bit of symbol power into one grand strike. It is the last chance for victory.'**

 ** _'And if it doesn't work?'_**

 **'It will. Just do it. I'll take care of the rest.'**

Just then, Kevin had started to use his symbol power. Jayden stopped him, then outlined his plan...although to be honest, it really wasn't his plan. Jayden demorphed from his shogun mode, and the Rangers were amazed again. They could feel the heat in the cockpit, and not just from the battle or any of the aftermath of Xandred's last attack.

No, Jayden's body was on fire again, and they could all feel it. But they couldn't worry about that right now.

"Remember, no matter what happens, we cannot retreat," Jayden said. "We have to keep going at all costs, even if we have only one Zord left. Everything is riding on this one attack."

In the process that followed, the Rangers lost seven of their Zords and their shield thanks to Xandred's attacks. And as the Rangers got closer to the Big Guy, there was the pep talk from Jayden. You know, the one about how no Red Ranger had ever led a better group of Samurai.

They were finally close enough and they all called for all the symbol power they had.

"Samurai STRIKE!" all six Rangers shouted at once. As soon as the Rangers released their attack, that weird 'thing' as Mia had called it two nights earlier, happened again.

As if it had a mind of its own, that big crimson bird flew out of Jayden's body, out of the Gigazord, and launched an attack which struck Xandred at the same time that the Rangers symbol power hit.

Xandred knew he'd been had when the fire of the Phoenix struck him, along with the Rangers symbol power.

"The Great Power? IMPOSSIBLE!" Xandred roared. No one thought that existed still, much less be able to singlehandedly be able to beat a guy like Xandred.

All Rangers present would have wondered what he meant but at that point, they didn't care. Xandred was going down. The fire of the Phoenix's attack and the Rangers symbol power washed over Xandred, as the big bird returned inside Jayden.

Xandred had been beaten in part by a force long thought to be dead, but he he was never one to not have the last word.

"Samurai Rangers, hear me now. You have won this battle, but evil's quest to rule your world will never end. You may have defeated me, but someday you will meet your demise. And one day, the Nighlok will rise again and rule your world!"

Those were Xandred's last words before he exploded in a blaze of glory.

This time, he and the Nighlok were really gone.

The Sanzu River receded back into the Netherworld, the Samurai Rangers had their final victory and Jayden had passed his second major test.

But unbeknownst to him, his destiny was not over. To truly realize his date with destiny, he would have to continue to fully embrace this "unknown power" as he called it, and would some day have to face good's most formidable foe.

 **Reefside High School**

 **Reefside, CA**

"Yes!" Dr. Oliver exulted as he pumped his fist. And breathed a sigh of relief. School had been dismissed about 45 minutes earlier, but Dr. Mercer had been nice enough to close off the conference room for Tommy; Tommy had filled him in many years ago on Jayden and Dr. Mercer knew also what was going on with the Samurai team.

Knowing how much this meant to Tommy, the least Anton could do, he felt, was give him a private place where he could watch the Rangers final fight on his iPad or phone.

He'd watched the whole thing, and the only time he breathed a sigh of relief was when that big crimson bird had come out of Jayden and helped beat the big guy. It did make him chuckle just a bit that none of the Rangers including Jayden himself had any idea of what was going on.

They'd get their answers soon enough, Jayden especially.

For the Samurai Rangers, and for the Rangers at large, it truly was a Victory Monday. Xandred was a tough customer, had made life hell for his son just like Rita and Zedd had done back in the day.

In many cases, this was the scary battle. This was the pressure battle.

Had the Samurai Rangers lost this fight, no one would have been left to stand in the way of his former Beautiful ruling the universe. It would have been the Nighlok vs the Flame of Destruction for control of the whole universe and most if not all of the Rangers would be dead.

His son had rid the world of the Nighlok and had unknowingly put himself in position to make not just his, but all of the Rangers dreams, come true.

And that was cause for celebration in itself.

"Smoothie at Hayley's!" he said to himself, grinning as he skipped out of the room, pep in his step. And he was sure that all the other Rangers who watched that had a little bit more energy as well.

The Power Rangers still lived, for now, and that was all they could ask.

"Enjoy your well deserved time off from your duties, my son," he thought. "Some day soon, we'll see each other again and it will be the greatest day of our lives."

"If only she were here too..." he thought as he walked to his car to head to Hayley's in celebration.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	3. 3: History Lesson Part I

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. However, he must first learn of his true heritage and meet his extended family.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 3: History Lesson Part I

 **May 16, 2012**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Lauren Shiba sighed as she listened to Jayden and the Rangers talk about what they were going to do now that the Nighlok were gone. None of them knew she was spying on them in a way.

She was going to miss them all...at least for the time being. Well, except Antonio.

After this bit of business was done, Lauren was going on the "golden ticket" fishing trip with Antonio. Antonio knew she was coming, but not Jayden. Not yet anyways.

She heard Mia talk about how she was going to cooking school very shortly. Lauren chuckled...she knew that the person running the cooking school was a former Ranger and a ninja, although she wasn't sure if Mia knew that. She knew Mia went to the Ranger gathering every year (sans last year since the fight with Xandred started) since her cousin Cam was on the Ninja Storm team, but she knew Mia wasn't too great with names.

She smiled as she heard Kevin talk about how there was still time left for him to train for the US Olympic trials. Of the aspirations every one of the Rangers had, that arguably concerned her the most. Kevin was going to get the opportunity that had been denied to Kimberly Hart, Zordon's first Pink Ranger...and the greatest menace left in the galaxy.

She nodded at the thought of Emily going back to her farm and Mike going with her. Those two were so cute together and she hoped they'd take the time to deepen their relationship. Of all the Samurai Rangers, Mike had by far grown up the most in his time in the house.

As for her, she knew what she had to do. She nodded at Ji and they quickly went to the gate. Lauren hugged Ji before she stepped through the gate.

"See you soon, Lauren. Give Ninjor my regards," Ji said.

"Absolutely," Lauren said as she whipped out her Samuraizer.

"Symbol power, teleport. Ninjor's Temple of Power, please," Lauren said and she disappeared.

Moments later, she reappeared in the Temple of Power to find Ninjor tending to Cole, who was still feeling some effects after that vicious fight with Jayden.

The whoosh of teleportation caught Ninjor's attention and he looked at Lauren pointedly.

"They're gone, I take it?" Ninjor said.

"Leaving right now," Lauren said. "Antonio's going on his fishing trip in a few days, Mike and Emily are going back to the countryside and Mia's going to that cooking school run by Rocky."

"And Kevin?" Ninjor said.

"Still has a chance at the Olympics. He's going to be with his team," Lauren said.

"They all deserve their time off," Ninjor said. "As long as the Sentinel Knight lives, we won't have to call on them again."

"How is he?" Lauren asked looking at Cole. "From what you told me, Jayden really took a lot out of him."

"The cuts, scrapes, bruises and everything else that had been inflicted on him when he got here are not to be believed," Ninjor said. "He's better, but some of his body still hurts."

"You must be Jayden's adopted sister," Cole said, looking at Lauren.

"I am," Lauren responded. "Just know that nothing that happened to you is your fault."

"I know, but you know how female Rangers are. Alyssa's going to kill me when I get home. Taylor too at some point," Cole said.

"They get a little...over sensitive, yes," Lauren said. "When you do go home, I'll ask Ninjor to go with you to smooth things over. Alyssa will probably listen to him, she's not just going to listen to you."

"And you?" Ninjor said. "You are leaving with Antonio...when?"

"This coming Monday," Lauren said. "May 21."

"That works well," Ninjor said. "We can go to the Shiba house on the weekend. I'll talk to Mentor Ji about that. In the meantime, you should probably get some rest."

 **Friday, May 18, 2012**

 **1:30 a.m. local time**

 **Jayden's Room**

 **The Shiba Houes**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Ever since the defeat of Master Xandred, Jayden's nights just kept getting weirder and weirder and weirder. He was still getting his sleep but it was becoming more and more difficult with the dreams.

The night after Xandred had been defeated...was that Tuesday or what...he'd seen visions of six different colored superheroes, in suits not dissimilar from the ones Jayden and his teammates had worn. The colors, from what he gathered, were black, blue, red, yellow, white and crimson.

The crimson warrior appeared to be especially powerful and he had visions of that warrior fighting a bunch of fire breathing foot soldiers, and a ruthless woman in golden armor who held a poisonous scimitar in her right hand.

Last night, he had visions of that same crimson colored warrior, alongside the white one, fighting a petite black haired female, dressed in a black body suit, with a firebird helmet and with a cape that gave he flight ability. She looked like what would be described as "the angel of death."

And tonight's dream was just plain weird.

In this dream, he was standing in a room that was completely pitch black, except for a small light which gave the room a little bit of lighting. It looked like the room hadn't been used in a long time.

 **'You want answers, young one,'** a voice boomed.

Jayden looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing. Surely, he was just hearing things.

 **'All these dreams, all these weird happenings that are going on with you. You want answers and you want them now,'** the voice said again.

Finally, Jayden found the source of the voice that seemed to come from the tube on the back wall of the building.

It was the image of a white floating head...was that floating head speaking to him?

 **'Greetings, Jayden. It is a pleasure to finally meet you as a man who defeated the one who tried to threaten him,'** the voice said.

 _ **"You're a giant floating head and you're talking to me,"** _ Jayden said incredulously. Now this was just getting ridiculous. Meanwhile, the being in front of him chuckled. It really was the 1990s again, he remembered when Aisha Campbell said, "let the man speak...at least I think he's a man."

 **'I know it sounds incredulous but the ones who know me best thought the same thing when they first met me. My name is Zordon, young Jayden, and I am known as the first mentor to a team of non-Samurai Earth Rangers, going back to 1993.'**

Jayden stared in awe. He didn't know a whole lot about past Earth teams, but he did know of Zordon from reading about him in one of Ji's books that he kept in the library in the Shiba house.

He was in the presence of a living legend.

 ** _"So, why am I here?"_ ** Jayden said. _**"You**_ _ **wouldn't have brought me here in my sleep for no good reason."**_

 **'Very perceptive of you,'** Zordon said. **'I know you want answers to the weird things that have been happening to you. I brought you here to inform you that you are going to get those answers Saturday morning.'**

Jayden breathed a sigh of relief.

 **'Be warned though, you need to go in with an open mind,'** Zordon said. **'Not everything you think you know is true. Some of the information you will find out may make you angry. However, the events that have led up to this point are no one's fault but fate itself.'**

Jayden nodded. With all the weird things that had been going on with him the last few days, anything was possible.

 **'One more thing to keep in mind, young Jayden. You have defeated the Nighlok but your journey is only just beginning.'**

 ** _"What do you mean by that?"_ ** Jayden said.

 **'I will let you find out Saturday, young Jayden. Until then, and forevermore, may the Power protect you.'**

At that point, Jayden woke up in a cold sweat. He needed some water on his face and needed it now. Things were just getting too weird.

 **Saturday, May 19, 2012**

 **8:45 a.m.**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Normally, Jayden would have slept in and enjoyed his time off from his duties.

That was not the case today, however.

The morning after his weird dream with Zordon, he had relayed his dreams to Ji including the one the night before and Ji confirmed that there would be a visitor this morning, at 9 am sharp.

That in mind, Jayden had woke up a couple of hours ago, had breakfast and then made sure the house was clean and was ready for the arrivals.

Jayden had just finished running the vacuum through the main room when they heard the chime that someone was at the gate.

"Looks like time's up, they were early," Jayden said. "I'll put the vacuum away."

Ji nodded as he went out to greet the visitors...one of whom would not be unfamiliar to Jayden.

The vacuum had just barely been put away when the doors opened. Jayden smiled slightly when he saw Lauren come in, then his brow furrowed in confusion when he saw two more beings arrive.

The first, clearly human, was a female African-American, slender and very well built, with a bright yellow sleeveless shirt and a purse over her shoulder.

The other being, and Jayden didn't know if he was human or not, was a blue robotic figure with a gold N insignia on his chest. Just from looking at the guy (if he was a guy) Jayden could just see the power radiating off this guy.

"Hey, Lauren," Jayden said as he embraced his sister. "When I said, see you soon, I thought it would mean, in a couple of months."

"On Monday, it will be, but I had to take care of a final piece of business. I'm going on the fishing trip with Antonio, but this is really important."

"Important enough to let a couple of strangers in the house, that I don't even know?" Jayden said with trepidation.

"Oh, they're not going to hurt," Lauren said, diverting his attention to the two newcomers. "That's Ninjor, the creator of the Original Power Coins and the head of the Temple of Ninja Power, and that's Aisha Campbell-DeSantos, the second Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger."

"You're telling me that one of the best veterinarians in the world is a former Power Ranger?" Jayden said, his eyes wide in shock.

"Thanks for the flattery, I do my best," Aisha said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jayden."

"We should probably go into the main room and talk. This is going to take some time," Ninjor said.

A few minutes later, Jayden, Lauren, Aisha and Ninjor were seated in the spacious main room of the Shiba house.

"I know you have questions, Jayden. Now would be the time to ask them," Ninjor said.

"The first thing I want to say is, I feel hot, like my body is on fire. Not like it's going to burn up, but more than enough to where I notice it. I'm not afraid that it's going to burn the house down, it doesn't seem like that type of fire, but it's the type that can make it difficult to function," Jayden said.

"Is it like this roaring in your body?" Aisha said.

"Yes, exactly," Jayden said. "It's that roaring that...made me leave my team and almost cost me my life against Deker."

"You didn't make that decision," Ji almost stated. It wasn't really even a question. "The roaring, the fire in your veins did that for you."

"Yes, and it ticks me off because I could have died against Deker without my friends helping me," Jayden said.

"There is a reason that you were made to leave, and I will get to that in a while," Ninjor said.

"I've also been having these weird dreams," Jayden said. "I've been seeing battles of six different warriors, blue, yellow, black, red, crimson and white. The crimson one in particular intrigues me, and he seems to have a connection with the one in white. He fights with supreme skill, knowledge and strength and he's fighting a group of fire breathing warriors and some ugly woman who looks like a scorpion."

No one missed Aisha blanch right at that moment. It wasn't new news to her but the thought of the ugly femme fatale known as Scorpina still pissed Aisha off.

"In other scenes, I see the crimson warrior fighting a girl with jet black hair; she's got a black body suit, her helmet looks like a firebird and she has flight capability. In my dreams, she kills you, Lauren, and the rest of our team. And the crimson one is the only one that can stop her," Jayden said. "And then there is the weirdest dream of them all."

"Such as?" Aisha said.

"In the one Friday morning, I'm in this room that's empty, pitch black except for a small light, and the next thing I know I'm talking to this floating head. Zordon, he calls himself," Jayden said. He feigned ignorance, but he knew who Zordon was.

Meanwhile, Aisha's face formed a deer in the headlights look as did Ninjor, although no one could see it. The gig was up now. There could be no more secrets.

"How did you react Friday morning?" Ninjor said.

"I went to splash my face with water at 2 a.m., and then went back to sleep. The dream did not return," Jayden said.

Aisha, Lauren and Ninjor all looked at each other. They knew it was time.

"OK, let's start with fact number one," Lauren said. "The first fact is, you aren't a Shiba. You have been a great help to us, and I will always love you, but you were not born in our family."

"You were adopted," Ninjor added. "And you were adopted for very specific reasons."

"It was a trade, of sorts," Aisha added. "The couple who adopted you agreed to take you in to be able to protect Lauren, and two people close to us agreed to give you to them to fulfill a prophecy, which will be explained shortly."

"That also explains why I didn't get killed against Fiera," Jayden said. "A Shiba, a true Shiba, could have been killed against Fiera."

"Correct," Ji said. "It also partially explains why you were homeschooled after your adopted father, Michael's, death. It was part of the plan. We took no chances, not just to protect Lauren, but to protect you as well."

"That's why I've never driven a car, never attended public schools, basically been off the radar," Jayden said pointedly.

"Now, let's go to fact number two. That crimson warrior that you saw in your dreams, when your dormant powers are fully manifested, will be you," Aisha said.

Now it was Jayden's turn to have the deer in the headlights look. No way!

"Me, powerful enough to do THAT?" Jayden asked. "You must be joking, right?"

"Why not?" Aisha said. "That dormant power you have inside you was enough to beat Fiera, Deker and the big guy himself. And it's not even fully manifested yet."

"Now, let's go to fact number three. As for that girl in the black cape that the crimson warrior was facing off with, she is known as Lady Flammia, conqueror of many worlds. She is known far and wide as the most ruthless terror in the universe," Ninjor said.

Jayden nodded; he had heard of Lady Flammia, everyone had unless you lived under a rock.

Every time she conquered a planet, it was galaxy wide news. No one had stopped her yet.

And for some reason felt some sort of weird vibe when her name came up.

"The thing is, she will invade this planet some day in the near future and when she does, it will be up to you and a select group of Rangers, including the Samurai team, to stop her," Ninjor said.

Jayden simply laughed at this notion. The thought that he, right now, could take on someone of that caliber was preposterous!

"Come on, me, against her? That's like a single A baseball player taking on a Hall of Famer," Jayden said. For some reason that got a laugh out of everyone, lightening the tension in the room.

"Hey, don't insult single A baseball players. My friend Shawna used to public address announce games of a single A ball team so don't go insulting now," Aisha said.

"As Ninjor said, when your dormant powers are fully manifested, you will be able to match, maybe even exceed Flammia in power. The question is, will there be enough time?" Ji said.

"Now, to fact number four. The couple who put you up for adoption, were not only two of my best friends but former Power Rangers as well," Aisha said. "Your mother, in another life, was my best friend."

"Take a look at this side by side photo. The one on the left is a normal human girl, and the one on the right is the feared Lady Flammia. What do you notice about both of them?"

Jayden looked it over closely at Ninjor's insistence. The resemblance was astonishing.

"If I had to wildly guess...they're the exact same person," Jayden said. "Which means, if I'm right, we may have another Deker situation but worse."

"Correct on both counts," Aisha said. "That girl on the left is your biological mother, Kimberly Ann Hart, my best friend and my sister in everything but blood. Unfortunately, thanks to a series of events after your birth and adoption which still disgust me, she was turned dark and has terrorized the entire universe. No one has stood a chance against her."

"She had dreams of going to the Pan-Global Games and then the Olympics until they were shattered by lowlife human scum that I otherwise dare not reference. That, and other untimely events, have brought out a lot of anger," Ninjor said.

"That still raises the question though. Who is my father, is he evil too?" Jayden asked, concern suddenly lacing his voice.

"No, although he has been...multiple times. That was a really good question, actually. Your father is Dr. Thomas Oliver, who has worn a total of four different Ranger colors in the last 20 some odd years," Ninjor said. "Both your father and your mother belonged, and still belong to a very elite race of warriors called the Ninjetti, or Great Power. That is the very power that is awakening in you now."

"It's a LOT different from the Samurai powers. The power that is burgeoning in you now is a power based on the spirits of sacred animals," Lauren said. "The Samuraizers are very powerful, but I've been in the presence of the Great Power before. It's a power that I couldn't even hope to attain."

"Your father hoped to be here today as well but got called to a conference that he couldn't miss at the very last minute, so as your mother's best friend as a holder of the Great Power I got called in," Aisha said. "I hate Anton Mercer sometimes. Your godparents would be here but as great as they are they aren't Ninjetti, they wouldn't be able to explain what we do. I can."

"Dr. Mercer and Dr. Oliver are close?" Jayden asked. "I've heard of Mercer, that guy's business is well renowned."

"Yes, he is a very good businessman, with a checkered past himself, but I won't talk about that for now. Now, to the fifth and final fact, the biggest reason why you were put up for adoption," Ninjor said.

"It was to protect you from would be alien invaders until you were ready to fight, and fulfill a prophecy," Aisha said.

"Like the one where it was predetermined that Lauren would be the one to come back and try to seal Xandred?" Jayden asked.

"Yes, but on a much grander scale," Ji said as he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Jayden. "Read this and read it carefully...you may have to read it several times to understand it."

Jayden saw the scroll unroll and began to read.

 ** _During a time of war, an intergalactic being_**

 ** _Feared by many worlds_**

 ** _Will attack Earth_**

 ** _Six warriors, all chosen by the legendary Zordon_**

 ** _Will rise to combat this evil_**

 ** _The courageous Frog, the cunning, fierce Bear_**

 ** _The silent, sure Wolf, the strong Ape_**

 ** _The agile Crane and the just Falcon, the Winged Lord and Lady of the Skies_**

 ** _Will stand in the way of his rule, and the rule of two arch nemeses_**

 ** _Through unforeseen circumstances_**

 ** _Two of them will part ways, and the team's heart will fall to the power of the darkness_**

 ** _Which will put this power holder's very soul on the brink of extinction_**

 ** _From the very loins of the wings of the Ninjetti_**

 ** _Will come a powerful warrior_**

 ** _This warrior will embody his very animal spirit, the mighty Phoenix_**

 ** _Trained in the ways of the Samurai, but with the Ninjetti in his blood_**

 ** _If the sacrifice of the immortal one does not end the heart's curse_**

 ** _Then the Phoenix must rise and lead his troops into battle_**

 ** _To join forces with his father and the other holders of the Great Power_**

 ** _And the holders of the Dino Gems_**

 ** _Only the fire of the Phoenix, with his adopted sister and five other charges_**

 ** _Combined with the original power teams and and the holders of the dinosaurs_**

 ** _Can save the universe, once and for all_**

 ** _This prophecy does not foretell the fate of the Phoenix's mother, the agile Crane_**

 ** _What is to happen to her is not yet known nor has it been recorded._**

Jayden reeled in shock after reading it.

He didn't want to accept it, mainly because he couldn't take another battle so soon after Xandred had been beat, but more than anything else, he knew it was true.

No one had ever held a Samurai power but had the power inside of him that had destroyed not one, not two, but three major enemies. A power that, he might add, had acted on its own accord to protect him.

"Excuse me, I need some time by myself," Jayden said.

"Wait!" Aisha said. "I'm becoming like your father...very forgetful. This is for you."

With that, she handed him a small DVD. It looked like it had been used many years ago, but had remained untainted and unblemished. Perhaps it was that power protecting it.

"Your father wanted you to have this. It's a complete history of what happened not just at your birth, but from the birth of the very first team of Rangers to today. It is focused on certain teams, but all are included," Aisha said.

"I'm sorry if I feel flustered, I believe all of you but this is a lot of information to take in," Jayden said. "I need some time alone."

With that, he headed back into his room, clearly his mind in a daze by what he'd just heard.

Silently, Aisha sat back down with Lauren, Ji and Ninjor.

"He said he believes us," Aisha said.

"I think he does, but I think he also needs time," Ji said. "When he tries to do too much that's when he gets himself in trouble."

"He is just like his father after all," Ninjor said.

"So I guess all we can do is wait?" Lauren said.

"All we can do is wait," Ji said.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	4. 4: History Lesson Part II

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. However, he must first learn of his true heritage and meet his extended family.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. Hunter/Tori and others mentioned in this chapter...yes, Hunter/Tori. Big fan of Lilac Moon's Hunter/Tori stories. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: So it's not only Halloween 2016 in most of the world, today marks the 10 year anniversary of when I published my first story on this site, Thirst for Revenge. Ever since that point, I've tried my best to carry the banner that Tommy/Kim writers on this site have done before me, by giving T/K fans great content that obviously now has newer PR seasons included. All my projects are a ways from being finished but I will do all that I can to one day accomplish that goal. When that will be, I know not. Thanks to all who have read any of my stories.

A/N 5: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 4: History Lesson Part II

 **Saturday, May 19, 2012**

 **9:45 a.m. local time**

 **Jayden's Room**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

As he sat on his bed and tried to let all the information that he had received sink in, he wanted more than anything to be mad at the world.

Mad at the family that had put him up for adoption, mad at the Shiba family for basically lying to him all his life about something this important.

Mad at the fact that he hadn't had the life other privileged kids had gotten.

And more than anything, mad that he'd had his greatest moment of victory, beating the "bad guy" stolen from him in a way with this new mission. Whenever that was going to be.

Jayden then sighed. No, he really couldn't be mad, not at any of it.

Mentor Ji had told him many times before about prophecies; that even though they were annoying, they were, by and large, fixed events. They were events that could not be changed. That you could be mad all you wanted, but it really wasn't going to do any good because it wasn't going to change a fixed outcome.

And besides, his thinking was, that if his parents had put him up for adoption, there were other evil forces out there that could have sought to turn him evil just as Madimot had Kevin.

That wouldn't have been fun...it wasn't any fun fighting Kevin and he was sure it wasn't fun being that guy too. Fortunately for him, he hadn't had that burden.

He then got up off the bed, walking over to the DVD player that was hooked up to the big plasma television sitting in his room. Every room in the Shiba house had a plasma television with access to satellite television channels, and the ability to play DVDs like the one the Yellow Ninjetti Ranger had just given him.

Before he could pop the DVD in though, he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," Jayden called, and he saw Aisha poke her head into his room. He also saw a sly grin plastered on her face.

"I can see you take after your mother already," Aisha said, and Jayden looked confused. "This room is pristinely clean. That's how your mother liked things; she was a total neat freak unlike your father."

"I came in because I forgot to say one thing," she continued. "Your father, or Mr. Technicolor as some of us call him put a safeguard on that DVD. When you pop that in, for security purposes, it will ask you for your identity. Just say that you are Jayden the Red Samurai Ranger and you should be OK to view the DVD."

"OK, thanks," Jayden said. "Yeah, I don't like things lying around. It looks terrible. When I'm not saving the world I generally clean around this place."

"One time early on in our tenure Mike used the symbol power for party here in the house on his Samuraizer and glitter was everywhere afterwards. It was utterly ridiculous," Jayden said.

"He must take after your Uncle Rocky, my husband," Aisha said. "Rocky has done something similar twice in our marriage of ten years and I made him sleep on the couch both times I was so mad."

"Not to mention what Mike did, that's using your powers for personal gain," Aisha said, making a face as she did so. "Zordon would have never allowed that in our house. He gave us a lot of freedom but we could never use our powers for personal gain."

"See, you're already getting comfortable around us and you don't even know it. I'm not going to hurt you and none of our brothers and sisters are going to hurt you or look down upon you. They know what you're going to mean in the future," Aisha said. "Happy viewing."

Jayden gave a small smile as Aisha closed the door. Two words came to mind in just an hour of meeting her; maturity and class. It was no wonder she wore the same color as Emily. Emily was quite a bit more upbeat, but Aisha seemed to have a lot of the same traits as Emily did.

Jayden beamed at the thought of Emily; he without question loved Mia more, but that didn't mean he was without respect for Emily. She'd come from the farm, to fulfill what her sister Serena could not because of her illness. He was grateful that Antonio had saved Emily's soul from heartbreaking death at the hands of Splitface; that had been a close call. A few minutes later, and Emily may not have been able to be saved.

Now she was undoubtedly back on her farm with Mike, taking care of her sister.

Jayden then popped the DVD in, and a few moments later he found the portion of the DVD that Aisha had just referenced.

 **'Before watching this DVD, please state your identity.'**

"Jayden Shiba, Red Samurai Ranger."

 **'Identity confirmed. Welcome, Jayden, someday a part of the Oliver family. Your father would be proud of what you have done. Enjoy the DVD.'**

Jayden waited a few moments and the blank screen disappeared, replaced by a man who seemed to be in his early 30s; he had spiked, short black hair, and wore a white dress shirt, denim suit, and a green and red colored tie.

He appeared to be in top physical condition, and Jayden could have swore that if he wanted to, this guy could be fighting Brock Lesnar somewhere.

 **"Hello, Jayden,"** the man said. **"My name is Dr. Thomas Oliver. If you are viewing this, then obviously either I, or one of my brothers and sisters in arms has given this to you, and I'm quite sure that you've at least begun to learn of your true heritage."**

 **"Believe you me, this is not the life I wanted for you. In an ideal world, when you were born in Sept. of 1995, we would have been able to keep you. But our fight, and fate intervened."**

 **"My first enemies, Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd were still around at the time, and they would be followed by even more nefarious opponents. Had any of them found out about you at that age, they would have sought to capture you and corrupt you for their own evil purposes,"** Tommy said. **"We would have broken prophecy and I could have lost you all at once. That was not something I wanted on mine, or Kimberly's, conscience."**

 **"There is one more reason we gave you up which I will get to later. In the meantime, let's talk about the powers that I'm sure are burgeoning inside of you,"** Tommy said.

 **"If you are viewing this, then I am quite sure that your dormant powers are starting to awaken. If you feel that roaring in your body, and you feel your body is on fire, that is a good thing,"** Tommy said. **"That means you are fully bonding with your powers. The key thing is, let it happen. The more you let this happen, the quicker it will bond with you and the faster you can learn about the new powers you possess. After your powers are fully bonded to you, the roaring and your body being on fire should stop."**

 **"The Ninjetti powers themselves are very different from the Samurai powers that I am sure you have possessed,"** Tommy said. **"While the Samurai powers are handed down through generations, and in large part come from your Samuraizers and Kanji symbols, these powers rely on spirit animals that everyone has. You have always had these powers, it's just that they are only now starting to awaken."**

 **"When your powers are fully bonded to you, amongst other things, you will have the capability of flight, will be able to control the element of Phoenix fire like it is second nature, and will have healing powers that will be able to heal you from injuries faster than even most Rangers,"** Tommy said. **"It won't protect you from a gunshot wound or something like that, but you will be able to heal from pretty much all magical attacks, no matter how devastating."**

 **"But enough about your powers,"** Tommy said. **"Let's talk about some past Ranger history, starting from the beginning. I will get to your mother later, but for now, let's talk, in particular, about your aunts and uncles."**

The first photo that came up was a side by side of a tall man, short black hair, well built, red tank top. Beside him was a blonde woman, who wore a checkered pink and white blouse.

 **"Those are your godparents, Jason and Katherine Scott. I met Jason on the first week I moved to California from Arizona; the only man who's ever been able to match me move for move is your Uncle Jason, and that match ended in a tie,"** Tommy said. **"As for Katherine, she's been through more crap than most Rangers put together. She was a part of Rita's plans when she moved here, but overcame a lot of odds, replaced your mother and became a fine Pink Ranger and later, a mother of two children."**

 **"Jason is part of the police force in Angel Grove and has connections there and in Europe, and Kat is a very famous ballet dancer who participates in shows all over the world."**

Jayden found himself in awe as Dr. Oliver went through the various sets of Rangers he served with, and the one thing he noticed was that most of these people were at or near the top of their professions. In particular, he recognized Trini Kwan immediately when she was shown; she was Cameron Watanabe's attorney. Tommy dubbed her the "Ranger Attorney," or more specifically the person who most Power Rangers went to when they had a legal case.

He knew this because Mia often talked about problems that Cam and Sensei Kanoi had that Trini sometimes had to clean up.

He smiled at the name Zack Taylor; Jayden already knew about him because when he wasn't DJing celebrations or helping his wife Angela with her dance studio, like Tommy described, he was a morning show DJ on Panorama City's top radio station and was a very good one too. Much like his radio persona, Zack was an upbeat guy, and would almost certainly take to Jayden pretty quick when the two finally met.

When Rocky's name came up, and Tommy explained what he did, Jayden's mouth dropped open. Mia was going to the cooking school that Rocky was running. In the past, he'd spent time as a chef in places like Paris, London, Los Angeles and New York City. What a small world it was.

No doubt, Mia would find her place in the cooking world; she was in good hands. Rocky DeSantos was known as one of the best culinary minds in the entire world.

He felt it was a shame when William Cranston's name came up, through unwitting circumstances, he'd had to move to another planet, and hadn't been seen since. Little did he know, Jayden would be seeing his Uncle Billy really soon.

He recognized Justin's name too when that came up; though he was the last of Zordon's chosen heroes, Justin Stewart had become arguably the most notable of them or near the top of the list.

He was an executive at NASADA in Angel Grove and had been in many scientific magazine interviews. Antonio, being the technical whiz of his team, liked it whenever Justin was interviewed and had said many times he'd like to meet Justin some day.

The theme of Rangers being near the best at the top of their professions continued as the DVD went on. When the Lightspeed part of the DVD came on, he'd found out that Chad Lee (Blue), Lebron James and his mother Kimberly Hart had one thing in common.

They'd all taken their talents to South Beach, with varying results.

So far, as Tommy told it, Chad Lee had been the most successful of the three (of course only after he said this did Lebron James start winning NBA titles); Chad worked at the Miami Seaquarium, and was considered highly successful. He'd had many offers to come back to California, but Chad, unlike Jayden's mother, had found success in Miami and chose to stay there with his wife Kelsey and two kids.

 **'Perhaps some advice from Antonio would do the trick if he swings by Miami,'** Jayden thought.

The DVD then moved on to Time Force, and he was really surprised when he heard Jennifer Collins name come up. She was another leader in her profession, this one being the fashion profession. Jayden knew all about her thanks to Emily, who always seemed to buy the Scotts-Collins Fashion Boutique Catalogue.

They didn't have a store in Panorama City but Jayden had seen plenty of the catalogues arrive in the mail and had seen an interview in a magazine with Jen. She was first class all the way. Her husband Wes held a pretty powerful position too, working with his father on running the Silver Guardians. Those two probably had money flowing from their ears yet the two appeared to be pretty humble.

As the DVD continued, Jayden heard about the Wild Force, Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder teams, the last of which was his father's team. He was pretty much their Zordon, if you will.

Three things crossed Jayden's mind as those teams flashed across the screen. One was that the Red Wild Force Ranger Cole bore a striking resemblance to Deker, although his father never mentioned anything about it.

Could it possibly be?

As the Ninja Storm Rangers were featured, Jayden found out that not only were Mia and Cam (Green Samurai) related, but that he wasn't the first Crimson Ranger. That belonged to Hunter Bradley, who was married to their Blue Wind Ranger, Tori.

As the Dino Thunder team was featured, and he saw Conner McKnight's face, his jaw dropped. Like most, Jayden was a fan of the "beautiful game" as it was known, and had jumped on the Manchester City bandwagon in part because of Conner. Man City had just won the Premier League on Sunday and no doubt Conner was raking in millions right now.

He smiled when Tommy revealed that Conner and Kira were married; Mia's brother Terry was a musician and was a big fan of Kira as well. Those two were probably knee deep in wealth too.

The Dino Thunder team, he learned, had also worked once with a futuristic team called SPD. He would later learn that some of those Rangers were children of Rangers themselves. It was good to know that Earth would be in good hands in 2025.

As the DVD moved on to the final teams before the Samurai team, a few thoughts went through his head.

Regarding Mystic Force, he felt a lot of sorrow and anguish for both Nick, and for the Mystic Mother. Nick, because he was known as the Phoenix Mystic Ranger, had been targeted by Octomus the Master a lot. They thought Nick was the chosen one, not Jayden. It really was too bad that Nick had to go through that, even though he won.

Jayden promised himself that when given the chance, he would "give em one for Nick."

He felt sorry for Mystic Mother too, although he learned that his father had buried the hatchet with her. That was good.

 **"There will be a time when you'll need to listen to her, Jayden, probably multiple times. Zedd and Rita have done as good a job of keeping an eye on you as we have. She has wisdom that rivals Zordon's, and Zedd does as well. If they come for a visit, listen to them,"** Tommy said.

On Operation Overdrive, he admired those who had come back to fight Thrax. Who was ugly, by the way. If he really was the son of Rita and Zedd, then Rita and Zedd while evil must have been REALLY ugly. Thank God for his aunts and uncles who had come back to make sure Thrax hadn't exposed him before he was ready.

The last team was known as Jungle Fury; they weren't greatly dissimilar from the Ninjetti themselves because they too relied on the spirits of animals. It was known as the Order of the Claw or Pai Zhuq.

Jayden knew he would be stopping in Ocean Bluff at some point, not just for some pizza at Jungle Karma pizza but for some advice regarding his new powers.

 **"And now, let's talk about your mother,"** Tommy said. He saw Tommy let out a deep sigh and could only imagine how much it pained his father to talk about this. **"Your mother, my Beautiful, the other half of my soul whose absence has kept me thirsty for nearly two decades. In the time we were together, she was like the air that I breathe."**

 **"When I met her in 1993, she was 'the one.' We danced around each other for a while, but we knew we were meant to be. I go on record right now as saying the greatest two years of my life were when we were together."**

 **"Every time I hear that she's conquered another planet, Jayden, another part of me dies inside because it's one step closer to her soul being destroyed,"** Tommy said. **"Jayden, she let Maligore corrupt her soul in 1997 for your protection. You were almost two years old and probably don't remember, but you cried like crazy when Maligore corrupted her that day. Lauren, your deceased adopted father Michael, Daisuke and Ji told me afterwards."**

 **"If she had tried to take on Maligore that day, had she lost, Maligore could have come and destroyed you. He would have been privy to information about you, Jayden. The risk was too great to take,"** Tommy said. **"The events that happened to her during her gymnastics training in Florida were so deplorable that it makes me vomit to this day. Maligore, to his credit, took advantage of her troubles and helped turn her into this monster."** **  
**

 **"When Zordon died to save the universe in 1998, Kim could have come home. But she had you in mind, in a roundabout kind of way,"** Tommy continued. **"I'm sure if your powers have manifested you've seen some dreams of futuristic battles. The woman in the golden scorpion armor is Kim's evil half's mentor, an old enemy of ours, Scorpina. Scorpina and my archrival Goldar had a daughter, known as Nepa."**

 **"Kim, or Flammia as her evil half, was named godmother of that child. When Zordon died to save the universe in 1998 it would have wiped out all evil, and would have returned Kim to her old state. However, Scorpina's daughter would have died,"** Tommy said, a tear escaping his eye. **"It was Kimberly's opinion that had she not stayed by Scorpina and her daughter till she was old enough to really grow up that she would be a hypocrite. She did everything to protect you, so she felt she needed to do everything to protect Nepa, even though it would keep her on the side of evil."**

 **"Jayden, a large part of this, and this is another reason why we reluctantly gave you up, is that your biological grandmother, your mother's mother, believed in having abortions. She hated me too, thought I was some redneck freak with a ponytail in my younger years,"** Tommy said regrettably. **"If she'd have found out about you, she would have deemed you a mistake and flown back to California from Paris and whisked Kim to the nearest abortion clinic like that."**

Jayden's eyes lit up with red hot anger. Abortions were never OK to him; no wonder they gave him up. More than ever now, he believed his parents had done the right thing as hard as it may have been. And even while evil, she'd had his best interests at heart.

 **"In closing, I say this. I am speaking to you in the year 2010, Jayden. You may or may not be fighting Xandred already, but just know this. Flammia has just conquered Eltar, Zordon's native planet, and has conquered several other planets. More will fall and one day Earth will be the final prize she will attempt to claim,"** Tommy said. **"If Flammia conquers Earth and destroys us, then Kim's soul dies."**

Jayden's face turned solemn and stoic again. By now, in 2012, she probably had conquered pretty much every planet there was.

 **"When she gets here, someday, you must accept your destiny and be ready to face her army. It is a vast, expansive army of some of the most foul creatures in the universe and only with your powers will the universe be saved,"** Tommy said. **"As I said in the beginning, I never wanted this for you, but it has come to this. Only by destroying Kimberly's evil half can you restore hope for the universe, and guarantee a life for you and me. What happens to your mother in the final battle has not been set in stone."**

 **"I leave you with one last thought, and it's in the words of Zordon himself, Jayden,"** Tommy said. **"May the Power protect you, always, my son."**

With that, the DVD went blank and Jayden just stared at the screen for a couple of minutes.

"A chance my mother could never come back, even if I defeat her," Jayden muttered aloud. "The hell with that. I go big or go home. She's coming home where she belongs."

Jayden pounded his right fist into his opening left hand, and strode out the door of his room with a purpose. As soon as he entered the large spacious middle area of the house, Lauren and Ji saw his eyes flash a bright shade of green and visibly flinched. That had never happened before.

While Ninjor and Aisha smiled. They had their answer.

"Did I just see that happen?" Ji asked. "That's never happened with him before."

"Like father like son. Only with the burgeoning of his powers does he have that capability," Ninjor said.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Jayden said.

"Your eyes just flashed green," Aisha said. "That only happened when your father was really pissed off about something."

"I'm pissed at the forces that drove us all away, in particular that loser in Paris who thinks I'm a mistake and would have forced Mom to abort me," Jayden said and Aisha smiled with pride; she hated that woman too. The 'Mom' reference didn't go unnoticed too. "They think I'm such a joke, they laugh in my face. I'm going to show them who the joke is."

"After everything I've been through, and what's gone on in the rest of the universe, the way I see it is that I've got everything to gain and just about nothing to lose. They think I'm a joke anyways, so what if I try and fail?" Jayden added. "The rest of the universe has been stepped on for so long by Maligore, and at some point someone's gotta step up and punch the bully back."

"Unfortunately, no Power Ranger has had the ability to stand up to that bully," Ninjor said. "As powerful as the Rangers are, they are helpless before the power of Maligore's army right now. Perhaps now things will change."

"I learned that lesson when we fought Negatron. When the big bully gets punched in the face and realizes he can't intimidate, he's not effective anymore. He didn't even faze Emily because she didn't listen to his insults," Jayden added.

"You're taking notes on everyone who thinks you're some sort of apology," Ninjor said.

"When I'm done, my mother will be free from this ridiculous corruption and she'll be home where she belongs," Jayden finished. "And when that happens no one will think I'm a joke anymore."

The tone of voice, cold and hard, that he spoke with told Aisha, Ninjor, Lauren and Ji that he meant every word of what he said.

When Maligore's army finally got here, they were going to be in for one nasty surprise.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	5. 5: The Call of the Rangers

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. Now that Jayden has learned of his heritage, he begins to prepare himself for the battle of his life.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 5: The Call of the Rangers

 **Saturday, May 19, 2012**

 **11 a.m. local time**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Not long after learning about his true heritage, Jayden-what's-his-real-last-name was sitting out on the porch of the Shiba house, strumming the guitar Mentor Ji had given him shortly after the defeat of Xandred.

Aisha DeSantos smiled with pride as she watched her nephew from just inside the door to the house from the patio. He had taken after his mother's footsteps and he didn't even know it.

Aisha was 100 percent sure that if the gymnastics thing hadn't worked out, that Kimberly would have been in a band somewhere and would have been making millions of dollars.

She then glanced at the small yellow booklet (conveniently, it had the insignia of a Bear on it) that she always carried with her which contained the number of every Ranger phone number in history.

Every one.

Nephew Kira was going to want to know about this. Then again, she was sure that Jayden would be calling his cousin Kira as soon as he found the number.

She was very grateful at Jayden's attitude as well. She had come in 100 percent sure that he would shun his true heritage and that it would take some time to build that relationship. She was wrong, and that never felt so good to say.

She also believed with all her heart that his carefree, loose attitude was going to pay dividends in the coming war. When Kimberly's evil half got here, people were going to die. Kimberly's evil half had an army that was too vast to count. There were many, many teams of Rangers yet they were going to be vastly outnumbered in this war.

Much the same way the Zeo team was outnumbered by the Machine Empire.

Any sort of levity they were going to get, much less from the future Phoenix Ninjetti, was going to be a huge help.

 **12:15 p.m.**

About an hour later, everyone was sitting around the table outside, with a good meal of burgers, grilled potatoes and various condiments.

Everyone noticed Jayden had been quiet, but it was the good quiet.

A confident quiet. They could sense the wheels were already spinning.

"The key thing about this war...whenever she gets here, I'm going to have to be ready," Jayden said. "Even before you guys came, I read about Flammia's army."

"My question is, what do I do right now to start getting ready?" Jayden continued.

Lauren looked hard at her adopted brother.

"You will do nothing, for the moment," Lauren said, which surprised Jayden. "Your father asked the Sentinel Knight, who called the Retro Rangers to help the Overdrive team, to keep Flammia out until you were ready."

"As long as he lives, she can't come here," Ninjor added. "Right now, I can't see a scenario where he could be in danger, although you never know."

"The best thing for you to do would be to relax for now. I think in a couple of weeks, when everything settles down, then you can start getting ready for the fight," Aisha said. "There's no hurry at the moment."

"Yes, relax and work on playing that guitar some more," Ninjor said. "Your mother, my Crane would be proud."

"She was a musician, Jayden," Ji said. "That was part of the reason I gave you that guitar. It was symbolic if you will. You may not be as great as your mother music wise, but you share a lot of the same genes."

"She was the shop till you drop type though," Aisha said, "and somehow I don't think that resonates with him."

Everyone laughed about that, and Jayden made a face. Mia and Emily were both the shop-till-you-drop types too, and Jayden was pretty fortunate he hadn't had to be a pack mule for either of them.

"There is one thing you could do that I just thought of though," Aisha said. "Most Rangers have specifically designed iPads and Phones made by your cousin Justin which have certain apps available only to Rangers."

"This would allow you to keep track of everything going on beyond our world, and you would be able to keep track of what Flammia's army is doing," Ninjor said.

"I should probably wait until a weekend to call him though. It's a good idea," Jayden said. "Anything I can do to be ready would be a good thing."

"Your Aunt Hayley also helps Justin with that. You could probably give her a call too. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear from you," Aisha said. "It wouldn't take long to do, and if you get a hold of either one of them they could probably have it done in a week or so."

"As far as powers though, don't do that yet," Lauren said. "You need a break and you need to relax."

Aisha then reached into her purse and pulled out a small book, crimson in color and with the drawing of a big Phoenix on the front of it.

"Your father and your Uncle Jason put that together for you. This is yours. Every Ranger that ever donned the spandex has one of these. In this booklet, is a list of the contact information of every Ranger and mentor in existence. Any of us are always a phone call away."

 **Monday, May 21, 2012**

 **12:30 p.m. local time**

 **Hayley's Cyberspace**

 **Reefside, CA**

These were happy days for Hayley Ziktor indeed as well as the entire Dino Thunder family.

There was so much to celebrate.

The main thing was, the Good Doctor was in a really good mood these days. Pretty much everyone, including Hayley, knew why.

The Phoenix was alive and well and the latest threat to Earth had been defeated. For that, she was eternally grateful. Without the defeat of Xandred, she'd be dead and so would everyone else.

That didn't even begin to scratch the surface of good news in their world.

Kira was still near the top of most music charts that mattered. She was, without question, the world's singing sweetheart and everyone loved her to death. But no one loved her more than her immediate family of Rangers.

Conner had just won the Premier League Title eight days ago with Manchester City, breaking a 44 year curse in the process. Conner had been vindicated too in a way.

When he went to the Premier League, City's arch rival, the famed Manchester United, had attempted to sign him. But though he shared a familiar color pattern with the storied club, he refused to play there and Kira had agreed. The arrogance had been too much. He preferred to help build a winner and that's what he'd done.

What made the title even sweeter was that City had not only won, but denied United another championship.

And that didn't even include Ethan, who was near tops in the video game industry, or Trent who still lived in New York and did comics that most Rangers, not just Dino Thunder, loved to read.

But no one prepared Hayley for the surprise that awaited her.

Hayley was just thinking "who has it better than us" when her assistant Jack came running to her space behind the counter. He looked out of breath too.

"What is it Jack?" Hayley said.

"You have a phone call. Guy says it's urgent. 805 area code, just like ours. He says his name is...Jayden, I think..."

Hayley's face formed a deer in the headlights look. No way...

If it was, she knew she had to take the phone call. This was her nephew!

"Jack, man the counter. I have to take that phone call and I have to do it now," Hayley said. Without a moment's hesitation, she flew back towards her office.

Leaving Jack to wonder, "the hell was that about?"

She nearly collided with a janitor as she rushed into her office and grabbed the phone.

"Hayley here," she said, almost out of breath.

"You know who this is, right Auntie?" came the voice on the other end.

"It can't be...Jayden, is that you?" Hayley exclaimed excitedly, though she knew it was him the second she heard the voice.

"The very same," Jayden deadpanned. "The guy who beat Xandred and the guy who's gonna kick the crap out of Maligore's army when it gets here."

"Oh my God, I can't believe it!" Hayley squealed. "We've got to get you here some day. I can't tell you how much your father and the other Rangers are looking forward to seeing you!"

She continued to ramble on until Jayden said, "Hey! I need something!"

That was the moment that Hayley realized it wasn't a social call. Perhaps she should have known, otherwise he'd have called her cell. He'd obviously gotten the book of phone numbers Tommy had made for him.

"OK, then, let's talk business. What do you need, Jayden?"

"I need one of those iPads that the other Rangers have. You know, the one Aisha says has a built in app that can let us see what's happening beyond Earth's borders," came the response.

"I could also use one of the Phones the Rangers have. We used our Samuraizers during the fight against Xandred, but I'm probably going to need an updated one for the impending battle."

Hayley blew out a breath. For most, that would be unreasonable. For her and her ilk, that wasn't a problem.

"That's not an issue at all, Jayden. If Justin and I can start working on them this week, I can have them done by Memorial Day and Justin and I can swing by Panorama City then. We can teach you how to use them," Hayley said. "Your father would too, but he's no rocket scientist as I've noted before."

"You can get them done that quick? That seems pretty far fetched..." Jayden said.

"Nonsense, for those of us who do this, we can get things done pretty fast," Hayley responded. "When are you going to go to Phaedos to start your training?"

"Lauren, Ji and Aisha said it would be best if I left in two more weeks. Gives me time to rest, relax and do just enough training to stay sharp until then," Jayden said. "I'll leave at the butt-crack of dawn Monday, June 4."

"Remember that the Great Power chose you for a reason, Jayden," Hayley said. "The Great Power is the strongest force there is in the universe and I am sure with your leadership it will bring Flammia down for good."

"I do have one last question then I'll let you get back to work," Jayden said. "The prophecy only mentioned certain teams that will be involved in the battle mostly, including Dad and those who went to Phaedos the first time. That sounds great, but last I checked there were only six holders of the Great Power. That's not exactly in our favor numbers wise."

"Like I said, the Great Power is the strongest force in the universe. Never doubt it; it beat Xandred," Hayley said. "Besides, who said there were only going to be six holders?"

"Interesting. Well, I'm going to get lunch. I'll see you in a week, Hayley," Jayden said.

"Be well, Jay. May the Power protect you."

 **May 28, 2012**

 **2:15 p.m. local time**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

When Mentor Ji had said to Jayden that there was going to be a cavalcade of former Rangers that were going to be coming by to see him today, he wasn't joking.

Jayden was amazed. He could see the cars all lined up down the street from his room window and knew it was them. How many of them were there? 10? 20?

The cars were all color coded too which made Jayden laugh. Somehow, people just never changed habits even when they got out of the spandex.

Then, he saw a black Jeep Patriot pull into a parking space between a red Dodge Durango and a yellow Hyundai Accent. And saw the occupant get out and he froze.

His father was here.

It truly was showtime. For the first time in just about 17 years, father was about to come face to face with his son, and a bunch of aunts and uncles were about to step in front of their nephew for the first time since he'd grown into a man. Some, for the first time ever.

There was no turning back now.

Just then, he heard the bell chime and saw Mentor Ji go to open the door, while he stepped out of his room and held his breath.

Right as the two that Dr. Oliver had described as his "godparents" stepped into view.

"Ji, hey there mate," Katherine Scott said as she embraced Mentor Ji. "Long time no see, how are you?"

"As well as can be. Things are feeling pretty swell here in the house these days. Just your godson and I, since Lauren left with Antonio."

"I'm sure they're having a blast," Kat said.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my godson all grown up into a man," a deep voice boomed as Jason stepped out from behind Kat and raced towards Jayden.

"Man, how you doing these days? Sweet victory over Xandred, by the way," Jason said. "It's exciting to see you grown into a man."

"I can't speak to Rita or Zedd in their awful forms because I never saw them live, but he's up there in the ugly department," Jayden said. "As for growing up, I do my best."

Not far behind Jason and Kat came an African-American woman who didn't look a whole lot different from Aisha, wore her same color too, and a 30-something young man with Asian features on his face. His Uncle Adam and Aunt Tanya, as he remembered from the video.

Behind them came Trini Kwan, amazingly one of only two of Zordon's Rangers still single at the time. Obviously, his Aunt Trini still had a crush on Uncle Billy though they lived worlds away otherwise she would have married by now.

One by one each of Zordon's original Rangers introduced themselves. Jayden's Aunt Aisha was happy to see him again, and upon meeting his Uncle Rocky he could confirm that his uncle was a goofball. No wonder his Uncle was the Ape.

He held a special place in his heart for his Uncle Andros when he came in and embraced the Kerovian heartily, because it had been Andros' sacrifice of Zordon that had allowed him to live and get to this moment. He did notice a trace of melancholy in Andros demeanor too.

"They got to your planet too, I take it?" Jayden said.

"Although we have been living on Earth, yes, they got to us a year or two ago, I honestly don't want to remember when it was," Andros said. "Hearing about what your mother's evil half and that awful witch Scorpina did to my planet breaks my heart every day."

"You need to understand they took the Lost Galaxy Rangers too and conquered Mirinoi well before they got my planet. It hurts my heart to even say that, the only person that's safe from that team is my sister Karone," Andros said. "I can only imagine what torture they've gone through on that ship the last three years."

"Three years? That's how long?" Jayden said.

"Yeah. The Quasar Sabers which power the Galaxy Rangers couldn't even stop her," Andros said.

"When she gets here, I'm going to be ready for her. You can count on that," Jayden said.

"I sincerely hope you can beat her and free my people," Andros said. "The situation back home is grim."

"Don't worry, I will."

"Will you let my nephew go so I can have a turn?" an annoyed female voice said just at that moment.

One look and he knew exactly who it was. Hayley.

Thank goodness. And Justin was here too.

Hayley surged into her nephew's arms, her joy greater than anyone except the group in the room could have imagined.

"My nephew is now a man, a fully grown young man. It's so wonderful to see you," Hayley said.

"How's business?" Jayden said.

"Business is cooking, not just with the Cyberspace but within our team as well. I'm sure you're aware of what your cousin Conner did a couple weeks ago?"

"Yeah. Premier League Champion. I jumped on their bandwagon because I was already a big fan, well before I knew about the family tie."

In all, most of the teams showed up. Except Jayden in taking a head count noticed that there was one team in particular missing. The Wild Force team.

His suspicions grew about that team, and in particular their Red Ranger. If Deker was their leader, Cole Evans, then the scars he had gone through had to be traumatic. It would make sense why they weren't there.

And then, he heard the door open one last time, and Jayden froze as he saw who walked through the door and into the house, his steps quickening as he neared Jayden.

Only this time, he looked a lot more..informal than before.

No dress stuff for this occasion, just a white tank top and blue jeans.

Before Jayden knew what was happening, Dr. Thomas Oliver literally ran towards his son and pinned him against his chest. So tightly in fact, that Jayden barely had room to breathe.

"Let...me...breathe...please," Jayden blurted out. "Dad, let me breathe!"

"Oh, uh, right," his father said. "I'm just...so overcome with emotion. My son is safe and is a fully grown man. You have no idea how scared I have been for you over the years."

"Like...a couple weeks ago?" Jayden said.

"Yes, but even before then. My enemy in the Dino Thunder spandex, Mesogog, had ways to make me suffer. Mesogog ended up being a close friend of mine but that's for another time. I am shocked he didn't find out about you nor has anyone else," Tommy said.

"I'm so happy you came for me," Jayden said.

"I always would. Imagine my surprise when Hayley called me last Monday night with your request. I nearly fell out of my seat, although you made the right call," Tommy said. "By the way, she and Justin have it done. They'll tell you how to use your new things."

"You truly have done a remarkable job, my son," Tommy added.

"And my work is not done," Jayden said. "When my work is done, our family will be complete like it always should have been. Mom's coming home."

"Please don't get my hopes up, Jayden," Tommy said. "I've all but lost hope that she'll come home where she should be."

"I'm going to do it. I fear no one," Jayden said. "Xandred was the pressure battle. That was all or nothing. If anything it's Flammia who should be real worried."

"My God, Jayden, she's so powerful though. She's conquered every planet there is. Beat entire teams of Rangers. The Lost Galaxy Rangers may be half dead right now because of her. My old friend Dex from Edenoi is prisoner too," Tommy said.

"Yeah, she's powerful but she hasn't seen anything like me before. I'm going to make her take me seriously. I beat Xandred for a reason," Jayden said. "Flammia and her army can try to walk all over me all she wants. Guess what? It's not going to work. She's not going to bully me, or our planet. When she gets here, I'm going to be ready for her. That's why I made that call to Aunt Hayley. As long as I'm ready when she arrives, we will win."

 **Eltarian Capital City**

 **Eltar**

 **Same Time**

Like most days, Kimberly Hart's evil half was too busy grinning and giggling over material possessions. Which, Kimberly could guess, was the case when you conquered every planet there was. Beat up teams of Rangers. Done just about all there is except one thing.

Kill the Phoenix.

And the good half of Kimberly didn't have to see what was going on to know what was happening at the moment. She'd been out for a while after Jayden's fight with Deker/Cole, but had regained her strength when Jayden and his Samurai team beat Xandred.

And now that father and son had reunited, it was giving them strength, and was giving her Ninjetti half strength too. She still had no idea how she'd held on this long. But it was worth it.

Once Jayden had claimed his destiny, and she was now fully confident he would, then she could have the full go to give her evil half hell. She may not be what she once was, but all she needed was just one good day. Maligore had a good 15 years or so, but she could have taken her soul back at the beginning if it wasn't so risky.

Now, there was no risk. Kimberly Ann Hart, much like Jayden, had little left to lose.

The Maligore influence that still held strong wasn't paying any attention. Soon, it would have to.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	6. 6: Phaedos

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter includes Jayden's reunion with his first family, and his first trip to Phaedos which will be detailed at the end of this chapter.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 6: Phaedos

 **May 28, 2012**

 **4:30 p.m.**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

A couple of hours after the "cavalcade" of Rangers had arrived, as Mentor Ji called them, and the party was in full swing.

And unlike what Mike had done with his Samuraizer early in the fight against Xandred, this wasn't just some manufactured party. No, this was real.

Most of the teams in attendance, older and newer, had each brought one or two specific items for the cookout. From buns, to burgers, to brats, condiments, brownies for after, and everything in between, the party had everything you could want.

Including family.

For the last couple of hours, Jayden was drinking everything in, just watching the camaraderie between the various teams. And in doing so, he came to two conclusions. The first being that it was quite obvious to him that no matter if it was the first team or the Jungle Fury team, this was one very tight knit family.

The second conclusion he came to (and he had his suspicions before then) was that of all the color designations, the Pinks were the "don't piss me off" type.

It didn't matter if it was his Aunt Katherine, her successor Cassie, his Aunt Jen, or any other Pink. They were all dangerous.

That was cemented when Kat started teasing Jason about the "Red Mission" deal in 2002.

You know, the one where all the Reds went to stop Serpentera without telling their significant others. And then all of them were sporting good-sized shiners for a while as a result.

"I'm sorry for relaying that story, Jayden," Kat said regrettably as she embraced her godson. "I get that it's too much information, that story's too good not to share. Your Uncle Jason slept outside for three days after that then I finally had mercy on him and let him back in the house."

"No, it's a good story. It's a good refresher of a lesson that I learned when I was fighting Xandred," Jayden said. "It's no surprise that Mia wore the Pink color. Emily was a fighter, but Mia is and was our heart. I would never want to get on her bad list. As Reds, we're the testosterone, but the Pinks are the don't tread on me types."

"Perhaps it's a good indicator of why Mom has conquered so many worlds," Jayden said sorrowfully. "She's powerful and she's got a Pink's temperament."

"Yeah and when she comes back, I'm afraid she's going to do things to me that I will want to forget for the rest of my life, but can't," Kat said.

"We're family now. That's just not going to happen. Half of her evil side I bet is anger at you, so if I protect you, that will help us that much more," Jayden said.

"You're right, it is. Maligore has twisted Kim's soul so much that it's filled with hatred for me. The first time she sees me, she's going to try to hurt me. Really bad," Kat said. "It's going to further fuel the evil within her to where it may consume what's left of her soul."

"I am going to take steps to make sure that isn't going to happen," Jayden said. "If she tries to come near you she'll pay the price. I'm not going to give her that opportunity."

"I have one other question. How do you make sure your kids don't get wrapped up in this stuff?" Jayden asked.

"Angela Taylor, your Uncle Zack's wife, knows about our identities. We call her the childsitter for when we have to go to Ranger activities like this," Kat said.

A couple of hours later after Justin and Hayley showed him how to use his new iPad and iPhone, the party moved outside for the early evening cookout festivities, and everyone began selecting their choice of food to eat, then picking their spots in the spacious Shiba house backyard, Jayden found himself sitting next to his father. His biological father.

In many ways, it was appropriate, Jayden mused as he was lost in his thoughts, trying to find words to put how he was feeling at that moment.

It might have taken several words to describe, but belonging, joy and happiness were words that could have described his emotions at that moment.

He was still trying to think of the right words, until Tommy beat him to the punch.

"Have you thought about moving to my house in Reefside when this mission starts?" Tommy said.

"It's a good question. I think not, at least not right now," Jayden said. "Hold on, hold on. This isn't a rejection all of a sudden."

"Why not?" Tommy said.

"Because I think it may arouse too much suspicion to what we're all up to," Jayden said. "You said the Ninjetti spirits are connected to each other, right?"

Tommy nodded. It was the truth.

"Well, if you, Mom and I are all biologically connected, and spiritually connected, as long as she's evil I don't want us too close together. Not right now," Jayden said. "Maligore will try to tighten his grip on her if I move into your place and live in the same house. He's going to notice."

Tommy was dumbstruck at the moment. Not that he was angry, it's more that he was surprised that Jayden was thinking ahead, and thinking of possible repercussions.

"My number one goal is to cut off the ways that Maligore can keep control of her," Jayden said. "The Crane spirit still lives, right?"

"Indeed it does," Tommy said. "As long as Maligore doesn't take complete control of her soul, the Crane still lives."

"Then I'm going to cut off the ways that Maligore can use to keep control of her," Jayden said. "If I was going to move some place, I think I would actually move in with Uncle Jason and Aunt Kat for a while."

"Why Aunt Kat?" Tommy said, curiously.

"Part of my plan," Jayden said. "Isn't it true that part of what's fueling Kimberly's evil half is hatred for Kat?"

"Yes, it is very much true," Tommy said. "When we were on Murianthias, and God I hope you never end up there, even after Kimberly was turned evil she was targeting Kat."

"If Kat goes out there alone then, Flammia could come down and terrorize Aunt Kat in ways I don't want to talk about, without having to deal with the consequences," Jayden said. "But if I'm where she's at, then she either has to face me before she wants to or she leaves her henchmen to deal with Kat."

"My ultimate goal is to make her face me before she wants to. Once I start beating her henchmen one by one, she's going to have to make a choice; either face me on my terms or watch her associates get destroyed. I'm going to make her play by my rules," Jayden said.

"I think in the end, it's best if I stay in the Shiba house for now," Jayden said. "It will attract the least amount of attention. You've said you have a Command Center in your basement?"

Tommy nodded. It hadn't been used frequently in a while but there still was one.

"Well, we have the same sort of thing here," Jayden said. "Ji and Lauren told me about it before Lauren left with Antonio. It's not quite what your base is, I'm sure, but it's a place I can go to if and when the house gets attacked."

"Xandred threatened to find Lauren and hurt her in our last battle. If he had come here, Lauren would have gone down to the basement as would Ji. Fortunately, he never got here," Jayden said. "If I teleport from that bunker to Phaedos for the days I train, no one will notice."

Tommy smiled with pride. The plan was simple. Make Flammia think Earth was going to be an easy conquest when she did get here, take her by surprise, protect Aunt Kat, and above all else try to draw Flammia into a fight she doesn't want.

"Your plan is a sound one," Nick "Bowen" Russell said as he came walking by. "Unfortunately not all plans work out like we want them to."

Jayden formed a small smile. He was talking to the person that he promised himself he would "give em one for."

"Nice to meet you, cousin Nick," Jayden said. "I'm going to give them all one for you after what The Master put you through."

"I appreciate that, but as a fellow Red who's been in this game for about five or six years, I'm here to give you some advice," Nick said. "The advice comes from my Mom and Dad and it is that not everything works out like we want it to."

"What do you mean?" Jayden said.

"I mean that in every war that Rangers have fought there's always a curveball," Nick said. "I didn't know I was the son of Udonna and Leanbow until after our fight with the Master began. I didn't know I'd be married to Madison and her to be expecting a child in about three months."

"A lot of us have been in this game longer than you have, Jayden. You've displayed superior skill and leadership but a lot of us have many years of experience," Jennifer Collins said as she too came walking by. "I was to be married to Alex, another of our Rangers until we came back in time and I found your Uncle Wes. I never thought I'd fall in love with him but I did."

"The point we're all trying to make is that you should use that phone booklet that I made for you," Tommy said. "We are always just a phone call away. Some of us will be with you on Phaedos when your training begins."

Jayden blew out a breath. As much as he wanted the plan to work, they were all correct.

It was quite likely that everything involved in his plan was likely to go awry at some point. Not that it wasn't sound, but there was no guarantee that Flammia didn't have plans of her own which could derail everything.

After all, he thought his destiny would be over when Xandred was beaten. How wrong he'd been.

And he'd seemingly forgotten, so soon, what Lauren had told him prior to her departure one week ago.

 **Flashback, May 21**

 **"All set now?" Jayden asked, although he already knew the answer.**

 **He knew Lauren was ready; with her orderly, meticulous ways she was probably ready a day ago.**

 **"Yes, I am," Lauren said as she embraced Jayden one last time before her big excursion.**

 **"I'm going to miss you, I wish you could be here when I get my powers," Jayden said.**

 **"Believe me, I'll probably feel it somehow. We all will," Lauren said. "I may be older than you, have more experience than you, but you're the chosen one. This is your moment now. Oh, and remember one other thing."**

 **"What's that?" Jayden said.**

 **"Be ready to change your plans on the fly. I know you've already thought of a plan, and if it works, great but the best generals are able to adjust on the fly. Once this war starts, the firepower's going to be coming from all sides and it's gonna go fast," Lauren said. "The best battle generals have a plan B, and plans C, D and E after that. Be ready to adjust to whatever happens."**

 **Jayden nodded mutely. As much as he wanted his plan to work, it probably wouldn't. Very few Plan A's work out like people want them to.**

 **"That's why your father Tommy is the best Ranger there ever was. He's got a lot of wisdom, so listen to him and listen to him well," Lauren said. "Not just because of longevity, but because he's able to adjust to any situation you can throw at him."**

 **"Tell Antonio to catch us a lot of fish," Jayden said as he kissed Lauren on the cheek one last time.**

 **"I will. Good luck," Lauren said and with one last wave, she headed out the door.**

 **End Flashback**

The advice from Lauren ran through his mind as Jayden ate his burger.

"Thinking about someone?" Tommy said. "I think I know who it is and I think she wears Pink."

"Surprisingly, that's not correct," Jayden said. "I'm thinking of my sister and the words she imparted on me when she left with Antonio."

"Your advice just now brought my last conversation with her back into my mind," Jayden said. "I got too caught up in my own plans that I didn't think of what would be my Plan B and C."

"Your sister is a very wise, mature young lady and I'm proud that you have someone like that to lean on," Tommy said. "My relationship with my sibling David is much like yours with Lauren; we were separated for many years but found our way back to each other during my teenage years. He lives on the reservation outside Angel Grove."

"Never doubt yourself, Jayden; you've already overcome tremendous odds against you," his Aunt Trini said from nearby. "When you believe, anything is possible."

 **Monday, June 4, 2012**

 **7:15 a.m. local time**

 **The Shiba House, lower bunker**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Before Jayden knew it, one week had passed since most of the Ranger teams had come by to see him. He still kept sharp with his training, and did all he could to relax in the meantime, but now it was time.

The moment that had been much anticipated since the defeat of Xandred was at hand. The Phoenix was headed to Phaedos to begin, what he hoped, was the training that would fulfill his destiny and in the end, reward him with his family back in full.

Ji had contacted Dulcea in the last week or so, and they had worked out a scenario that Jayden felt was perfect. The glowing portal before him would take him directly to Phaedos without much notice if at all. It would happen, Ji and Jayden decided, until Jayden figured it would be best to go some place else.

"Remember," Ji said as Jayden prepared to go through. "Be prepared for anything, always give it your best, and know that I and everyone else in the Ranger family is proud of you."

"Got it," Jayden said as he hugged Ji one last time, and stepped through the portal to whatever waited on the other side. Behind Jayden the portal closed, and Ji said a mental prayer for Jayden as he went upstairs to eat his breakfast.

Meanwhile, Jayden emerged from the portal moments later. Whereas the sun was rising on the West Coast, it had clearly been up for a couple of hours here.

The ground he landed on was very, very rocky and he literally had no idea where to go and there appeared to be nothing or no one there on his arrival. Searching once again inside his heart for the power he knew was there, he sought some guidance, and when he had it, he trudged off to his right.

Little did he know that he was being watched by a curious green owl perched high above a cliff, in fact the very cliff he was standing below. If he'd have looked up, he may have taken notice.

That very owl reached for the communication device near her and pressed a button.

"Alpha, he's here," the voice, clearly female, said. "Activate one of the practice battle scenarios we created. I wish to see how far along Jayden is, and then I will confront him."

"You got it, Dulcea," the robotic voice from the other end said. "Activating now."

Meanwhile, back below the cliff, Jayden continued walking towards his right. He'd barely gotten ten more feet when suddenly a cawing filled the sky. Jayden suddenly looked up and saw a fleet of purple colored birds heading his way.

Tenga Warriors.

"Deja vu," Jayden said, recalling his conversation with Tommy about his trip to Phaedos 17 years ago and what happened when they got there. Ivan Ooze was allegedly dead, so this had to have been planned by somebody.

A garbled noise then reached his ears, and he turned to his left to see a group of clay creatures with Z's on their chest.

Zedd's Putty Patrollers.

But he was good now too, so obviously somebody planned this.

"Come on. Bring it," Jayden called, beckoning the two groups of foot soldiers to come his way and they instantly responded.

Jayden then went right to work; as two Putty Patrollers neared him he channeled the fire that was inside him (Tommy had begun to teach him about that when he visited the Shiba house), allowing two fireballs to magically appear in his hands. He tossed the fireballs at the Putties nearing him, and the second they made contact the Putties instantly burned into nothing more than two piles of ash.

The Tengas then descended on him, but were rudely met with rapid punches to the face. Jayden then took out his sword that he always carried with him. He used his sword to, literally, chop three Tengas' heads off, and he then transformed into a fireball and barreled right through three others, incinerating them instantly.

The carnage continued for 20 minutes; every single Putty and Tenga attempted to come at him, and all were met with the same fate.

Then, suddenly, what was remaining of all the footsoldiers disappeared, and he was left alone again. The stench of blood and burning fire that he'd created remained though. It was a nasty stench, and he had to hold his nose a bit as he sheathed his sword.

"Very impressive performance, young Phoenix. You are somewhat further along than expected," came a voice with an alluring female accent. Before he knew it, a small owl flew down on a rock in front of him, and in a flash of light transformed into a tall, well built female warrior with a mass of bronze hair.

She was dressed decidedly different than she was the last time the Rangers had been here; the green bikini had been replaced by a green robe similar to what the Ninjetti wore.

"Dulcea," Jayden said, recognizing the woman immediately from his father's DVD.

"Indeed I am, Jayden," Dulcea said as the age old warrior embraced the Phoenix-in-the-making. "Welcome to Phaedos. It was here during the fight with Ivan Ooze that I gave your father and mother their Ninjetti powers, and it's where I found out your parents were pregnant with you. I have waited for this day for many years."

"What just happened...that wasn't Zedd, Rita or Ivan, was it? I'm just making sure," Jayden said.

"No it wasn't. That was one of many practice programs created by Alpha 5, Zordon's robotic assistant, and myself that was designed to test those such as yourselves who wish to acquire the Great Power. I simply wished to see how far along you are," Dulcea said.

"You are further along than I imagined, which is a good thing," Dulcea added. "Now, come with me. Let us go take the next step in acquiring your powers. There are others here as well who wish to see you."

With that Dulcea slipped her arm around Jayden, trying to make him feel comfortable, and the two headed off towards the Ancient Ruins.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	7. 7: Winged Prince

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, Jayden begins his Ninjetti training.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 7: Winged Prince

 **June 4, 2012**

 **The Ninjetti Temple**

 **Phaedos**

As Dulcea led him along towards the Ninjetti Temple, Jayden gasped at the beautiful scenery. There was a lot he didn't know about this planet, he was sure, but he still marveled at his surroundings.

"It's so serene here," Jayden breathed. "I can feel a sense of peace here. Like nothing can bother me, that this is where I'm supposed to be."

"Once upon a time this used to be a thriving planet, many, many thousands of years ago," Dulcea said. "Wars and attrition have reduced this planet to what it is today."

"It is a beautiful place, but I wish my people were here with me today. In the last number of years, your father and his brothers and sisters in battle have become the closest thing to a family that I have," Dulcea said.

As the two continued to walk along, a question came back into Jayden's mind. He'd been wanting to ask but kept forgetting to.

"Dulcea I have a question," Jayden said. "During our fight as Samurai Rangers, we had a fight against a Nighlok called Splitface. He took Emily's soul, and if it hadn't been for a miracle created by our Gold Ranger Emily's soul would have been gone forever."

"Before Antonio saved her, I proposed to go into the Netherworld, where normally no human survives without becoming Nighlok," Jayden said. "Is it possible, with the Phoenix in me, that I would have survived in there?"

"You could have, but we thought it was a big risk for you to have your powers awaken then," Dulcea said. Jayden couldn't argue with that; if his powers had manifested then, it would have thrown everything out of whack. Every single evil entity would have tried to destroy him, not just the Nighlok.

"But could you have survived, yes. Had you gone in there, you would have stood a chance because the powers of the Phoenix are greater than the powers of the Sanzu River. But at that point, I deemed it too risky and so did your father."

20 minutes later, Dulcea and the newest Ninjetti-to-be arrived at the Temple; the moment they stepped foot on Temple grounds, they were greeted by the arrival of a small robot, with a red chest plate and a yellow lightning bolt down the center of it.

"Hooray, the moment has finally arrived," the robot spoke, which flabbergasted Jayden slightly. "Greetings, Jayden, this is the first time I have seen you since you were born nearly 17 years ago. My name is Alpha 5 and in a previous life, I was Zordon's lifetime friend and assistant in Earth's old Command Center where you were born."

"Dad told me about how important your role was back in the day, but you'll have to excuse me if I'm slightly flabbergasted that I'm listening to a talking robot," Jayden said, laughing slightly. "In my time as a Samurai Ranger, we never had anything close to that level of weird."

"Believe me, your father and his friends thought the same thing when they first met Zordon and I," Alpha said. "That includes this man, the Lone Ranger of your father's old teammates who you haven't met yet. Come on out."

From the shadows of the Temple stepped a young, 30 something year old man with sandy brown hair that had partial streaks of blond in it thanks to the time he had spent with the Aquitians.

The years had changed him as much as any of Zordon's Rangers. The shy kid who would have had trouble beating Bulk and Skull in a fight was unrecognizable. The man that stood in his place well toned, all muscle and looked like he could beat anyone including the guys.

With every step he took, his pace quickened. Before he knew it, Jayden was being pulled into an airtight bear hug. If possible, it rivaled the one his father had given him a week or so ago.

"Let me breathe...please..." Jayden mouthed.

"Oh, uh, affirmitive," Billy Cranston said as he let his nephew go. "I realize that your father did this a week or so ago, but you just don't realize what this means to all of us, especially those who grew up with your father."

"There were times, when the universe was being conquered planet by planet, that I wondered if your mother's evil half would find out about you and destroy you before you were ready. Many of us feared for your safety while you were growing up," Billy said.

"Yeah, if only it weren't for the prophecy," Jayden said, making a face as he did so. "And if it weren't for a specific person who would have wanted Mom to kill me before I was born."

"Don't get me started on that, I hate her too," Billy said. "I will teach you how to give her a little message in our own special way later. For now though, I will leave things up to Dulcea. Congrats on being one step closer to fulfilling your destiny."

With that, Billy and Alpha left, leaving Jayden and Dulcea alone on opposite sides of a fire pit.

"Like I have said, you are somewhat further along than I expected you to be," Dulcea said. "This is because you are allowing the powers to become one with you at a very fast rate. Still, I must perform the ritual as usual."

"Within each of us, Jayden, is an animal spirit waiting to be released. Close your eyes and look deep inside of yourself," Dulcea said. "Allow the animal spirit inside of you to be released."

The flames rose high into the air, and the fire that would have consumed most individuals was like second nature to Jayden. It was a warm feeling that seemed to give him unending strength.

When it was all over, Jayden opened his eyes and found himself dressed in a crimson robe much like the previous Ninjetti who had come here. The medallion on his chest had the emblem of a Phoenix on it, as expected, but that wasn't all.

Not only that, the power that was coursing through him was unbelievable! Lauren hadn't been kidding when she said this power made the Samurai powers seem tame by comparison. The Samuraizers were powerful, but nothing like this!

"Jayden David Oliver, you are now the flaming, majestic Phoenix. The Winged Prince of the Skies, the one who will save your world and, if all goes well, your family," Dulcea said. "I would like to make you aware of something."

Dulcea gently felt his robe until she found what she was looking for; the medallion in the center.

Using her magic, she was able to turn it so Jayden could look down just enough at it to see what she was looking at.

"As you might expect, there is the emblem of a Phoenix on this medallion. But take a look at what else is on it," Dulcea said.

Once Jayden saw what she was looking at, he gasped in surprise.

There, flanking either side of the big, majestic Phoenix, were a Falcon on the left, and a Crane on the right. Truly, to him, that symbolized what love was all about. Even though this family was apart, they had his best interests at heart.

Jayden's eyes misted over. The family that should have been, had been torn apart. In his heart, he knew that wouldn't last forever.

"Now, I would like to inform you of some added powers that will be bestowed on you once you claim your morpher," Dulcea said. "Your Phoenix Ninjetti Zord, quite possibly the most powerful Zord in existence, will not be the only Zord you possess."

Dulcea called forth an image in which several different Zords were displayed; a green robotic dragon seen rising up out of a harbor, a pink-colored firebird, a white colored tiger, a pink crane, a white falcon, a white robotic Shogun based Zord, a red battle machine with a star on its head, a red colored car, and a huge black Brachiosaurus themed machine.

"Because you are the son of the two greatest Rangers in existence, your Phoenix morpher comes with a unique power. When you touch that morpher, you will automatically gain control over each of the Zords your parents possessed. The White Tiger Thunderzord and the Pink Firebird Thunderzord were destroyed in a previous battle but if you reach that morpher, their destruction will be reversed," Dulcea said. Jayden's eyes widened in shock.

"All of them? No way," Jayden said.

"Like I said, you aren't the Winged Prince of the Skies for nothing," Dulcea said. "This is the most powerful Ranger power in existence."

"It'll be a long time before I can even have a chance to reach that morpher, correct? I mean, something that powerful doesn't come easy," Jayden said.

Dulcea was speechless; usually Rangers who received a power like this were too eager to go claim it.

"I wish I could tell you it will be easy to claim that morpher, but your quest will be arduous and you are not ready as yet to go on that quest," Dulcea said. "Your parents and their friends had it tough enough getting to their powers. Your quest will be twice as difficult."

"How close am I?"

"Further along than expected but you still have a ways to go. To be able to go on your quest eventually, you will have to get to the point where you can face me in combat and fight effectively," Dulcea said.

Jayden gulped. He knew he wasn't ready to do that yet. Dulcea's mental state was at peak performance, he could tell, and while he was in a good spot, there was little doubt in his mind that he would be outclassed right now.

"I would however, like to see you in action a little more. To see just a bit more of how far along you are," Dulcea said. "That said, I won't be choosing your opponent this time. You will."

"You can pick anyone off the Ranger roster, from the first team to any of your Samurai teammates," Dulcea said. "I will very soon extend that option to all Ranger mentors and allies except for those who are in captivity."

Jayden then composed himself, sat down on a boulder for 20 minutes and thought of who he might want to face. Finally, he had his answer and whistled to get Dulcea's attention.

He noticed that Billy had come back out and was standing next to Dulcea. He thought for a moment about choosing Billy, but no he decided, that would be the easy way out. It may show favoritism too.

"I'm going to go with someone you may not expect," Jayden said. "I'm going to choose someone who controls the opposite element of mine."

"I'm going to choose someone who is a Ninja and a trained Sensei. I'm going to choose someone who is the only female on a team of all guys."

Billy and Dulcea looked at each other. They knew who he was talking about but this was a surprise.

"I know it's gonna upset Hunter, but I select cousin Tori as today's chosen opponent."

"I'll put out the call," Billy said, as he waved to Jayden. "Good luck."

"I'm surprised you chose her. It's a good choice but I'd love to hear your reasoning," Dulcea said.

"One because she is experienced and actively uses her Ninja powers most days in her training. Second, I don't want to pick one of my Uncles except on a weekend because I know they have jobs and lives to live. Third, her water power is an effective opposite to my powers. Finally, if I show favoritism to the older teams, that won't look good," Jayden said. "Certain teams will take center stage in the final battle but I'm going to need every team to win."

"You really put some thought into that. I have said you have a ways to go and you do, but I think you are on your way and I believe that you will fulfill your dream eventually," Dulcea said.

 **Two Hours Later**

Jayden's body was soaked from head to toe and not only that, he was sore.

He knew there was no way he could fight Dulcea at this point after fighting Tori for two hours.

Every part of his power that he knew about, he'd tried. Aside from a few promising counter-attacks, the tall blonde surfer and seasoned Wind Ninja had outclassed him. Knew exactly what he was going to do before he did it. Not only that, she'd dictated everything in that sparring match.

"Here, let me help you up," Tori said. "You're pretty sore. Expended a lot of energy today."

"At least I know exactly where I stand," Jayden said. "But geez that was painful. Nothing I did worked."

"You simply need more experience, more time with your powers," Tori said. "That's really what it comes down to. I've been doing this for nearly a decade and I've been here to Phaedos to train against Dulcea. Your powers just now awakened and you are at essentially a novice level of Ninjetti."

"The one thing I would suggest to you though is be aggressive and take chances. Don't be predictable," Tori said. "I knew this would happen because you're a novice, but I could see your attacks coming before they happened. Be creative. You're the one that has little to lose."

"Do you know how I ended up with Hunter?" Tori continued.

"Yes, enlighten me because from what Dad told me on that DVD, you had a thing for Blake at one point," Jayden said.

"I'll be honest, I could never have seen myself going out with Hunter before our team broke up after we beat Lothor," Tori said. "I was in the dumps for close to a year and a half after our team went our separate ways. Blake was on his motocross tour and wasn't showing a sign of coming back."

"Except for when Mesogog teamed up with Lothor," Jayden said.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Tori said, making a face. "Blake was gone but Hunter stayed to run the Thunder Ninja Academy and our schools became real close. I learned as time went on that female Rangers tend to become really close to Red designations and there was something about Hunter that I couldn't put my finger on."

"I took a chance in early 2005 and went out with him one night. Never been more love struck ever, and never ever looked back," Tori said. "Was Blake upset when he found out, sure but I think he knew he messed up when he didn't actively pursue me when we were Rangers."

"The point is, doin't be afraid to take chances?" Jayden said.

"Yes, very much so. Your father fought Lord Zedd one time to save your mother, right before she left the team," Tori said.

Today had been a humbling experience, but Jayden wasn't the least bit deterred.

He would get better, get more creative, and when he did, these experiences would be far less frequent.

 **The Netherworld**

 **Same Time**

When a major event like a Ranger's animal spirit awakening happens, it's not just those on the side of good that notice.

No, those who were evil notice too.

Master Xandred was no long alive, but some of his minions and Nighloks remained. Most notably, Octoroo.

Octoroo recalled that Dayu had said there was something else to that Red Ranger "impostor" Jayden or whatever his name was. It turned out, she was right.

That same Octoroo was standing next to Fiera, the bird-like female Nighlok who had beat the crap out of Jayden just three weeks earlier, and the insane Madimot, the insane Nighlok who had made Jayden fight Kevin. They could all feel the fluctuations in the Grid. Everyone could. Only this was something beyond their wildest dreams.

No one thought that impostor Red Ranger would end up being the legendary Phoenix Ninjetti.

Yet they could all see the images. They could see that impostor former Red Ranger, in possession of the Great Power to an extent, sparring with a past Ninja, Tori Hanson-Bradley.

He was getting his butt kicked, but every one of the Nighloks watching knew damn good and well that it wasn't for lack of trying. That the only thing he lacked was experience in using his power. The Ranger he was facing was a seasoned Ninja who knew everything about her abilities and about being a Ranger.

Everyone knew the prophecy. If the Phoenix powers were awakening in the former Red Samurai Ranger, then all of them knew what was coming next.

"I remember when you sent me out there to fight him," Fiera said, looking pointedly at Octoroo. "When I fought him, I half thought I couldn't destroy him because he isn't a Shiba, and the other part of me was asking what sort of freak is this guy?"

"It turns out he was much more of a freak than I could ever imagine. The legendary Phoenix Ninjetti, wow," Fiera finished. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"Ooh ah ooh, yes indeed. One day Flammia's army will come and once that Red Ranger fully claims his powers it will be a fight to remember," Octoroo said. "Ooh ah ooh, I'm glad I'm not going to bet my Zenematars on who wins that one."

"I made a mistake," Madimot said. "I should have thought to turn that Red Ranger evil and bring him here. Imagine the powers of a Red Samurai Ranger and a Ninjetti Ranger all at the same time."

"You couldn't have, even if you tried," Fiera said. "Don't feel so bad. The Phoenix Ninjetti's parents were both evil and one still is. Because both of his parents were evil, the powers of the Sanzu would not have corrupted him."

"I guess in this case, two wrongs do make a right," Madimot said silently.

 **Eltarian Capital City**

 **Same Time**

And if Xandred's merry band of misfits could feel the fluctuations in the Grid, then those who followed the Great Flame of Destruction could feel it too.

In fact, that's what Queen Flammia and her top general were discussing right now. Flammia's prized battle machine had been completed just a few days ago, but all the good feelings from that were gone thanks to what she felt in the Grid.

"I don't know how this is possible, Scorpina," Queen Flammia ranted. "We saw a Phoenix power emerge back in 2006. That Nick Russell or whatever his name was."

"The Light, you mean," Scorpina said. "The one who helped defeat Octomus."

"Yes, that one," Flammia said, clearly flustered. "So what is ANOTHER Phoenix power doing out there?"

It was a good question, and one that Scorpina didn't have a good answer for. Like most, she'd fallen for the thought that Nick Russell was the real Phoenix, the one the Phoenix prophecy talked about. That anyone who'd destroyed someone who had any connection to Maligore, much less Octomus, was the chosen one.

In addition, up until now, there had been no indications that there was another Ninjetti waiting to be born. Yet, they could feel the fluctuations in the Grid. The side of good was becoming stronger because of a Phoenix Ninjetti that was awakening.

"All I know is this," Flammia said. "If this recent power turns out to be the real Phoenix, and not Nick Russell, then I will be so pissed I can't see straight!"

Scorpina wisely left; she was Flammia's closest confidant, but even she knew she wasn't safe as long as her mistress was this angry.

"Not to mention that little insignificant Crane power is growing stronger by the day," Flammia said. "That little insignificant wench is hiding something from me!"

"What are you hiding, Kimberly Ann Hart? What are you keeping from me?" Flammia growled to herself.

 _ **'Oh you're just now figuring out that I've been conserving myself and hiding something from you?'**_ the perky voice of the woman that used to be filtered in Flammia's head. **_'Congratulations, fire woman, after 15 years you figure out I've been hiding something from you. Someone give that woman a prize!'_**

"Spit it out you insignificant pitiful woman!" Flammia roared as if talking to herself. The Maligore side of Kimberly was fast losing composure. "I will not be bested by a washed up former Ranger who allowed me to take her body so easily!"

 ** _'First of all, take some of the attitude out of your voice when you talk to me. Without me as a vessel you don't have a chance to live. As far as what I'm hiding...wouldn't you like to know? Too bad I'm not going to spit it out. Have fun finding out some day soon.'_**

Flammia ranted and raved; she wanted action so bad but she was stuck. Earth was protected, so was Phaedos, so was Aquitar. And the insignificant little Crane was unwilling to give up her secret. Probably for her own amusement.

"Mark my words, little Crane, one day I will destroy what's left of you and I will take all that you hold dear! You will be sorry that you ever kept something from me!" Flammia roared, almost to herself.

And inside that body, the soul of Kimberly Ann Hart that still lived smiled from ear to ear. She could have told her Maligore side what she was hiding, but no, that would take away all the fun.

She was having so much fun seeing the Maligore side of her lose its mind and was going to have as much fun as she could with it.

That and the fact that Jayden was becoming more and more one with his powers made it a very good day.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	8. 8: Taking Flight Part I

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, Jayden makes his first big decision as a Ninjetti after a few weeks of struggle.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 8: Taking Flight Part I

 **Saturday, June 16, 2012**

 **1:30 a.m.**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

It was funny how just a short amount of time could change things, huh?

Three weeks ago, Jayden-what's-his-real-last-name had all the good feelings. The Memorial Day party nearly three weeks ago at the Shiba house had given him nothing but good feelings. He'd been able to meet his father, his real father, for the first time and had met pretty much every one of the extended family of Rangers. There were a few that couldn't make it but most of them had.

Every one of those teams had gone through their own troubles, trials and tribulations to keep the world safe long before Jayden was even close to being equipped enough to fight evil.

How things changed in three weeks.

A little less than three weeks later, and all the good feelings were gone. Well, not all, but most of them.

Since he'd begun his training on Phaedos, he was constantly getting his butt kicked by every veteran Ranger imaginable. Now, it wasn't any shame getting kicked around by a Ranger, no matter who it was.

It was that, in his opinion, he wasn't making a whole lot of progress. Sure, he was learning about his new powers and everything like that, but all this stuff didn't seem to be getting him anywhere.

He still couldn't get the previous day out of his mind. To be fair, Taylor Earhardt-Meyers was a very skilled Yellow Ranger and was an excellent fighter - she was a former Air Force pilot.

But she'd kicked him around the whole day yesterday and kept talking about how "the so-called savior of the world doesn't impress me very much right now."

That hurt, so much more than he wanted to admit. He'd gone about his evening as normal when he'd got back from Phaedos, and tried not to show it, but it hurt.

He wouldn't have minded it so much if it were from Mentor Ji, or even Lauren or Daisuke. Heck, Mentor Ji had taken Mike's Samuraizer away once just to make a point. With Mentor, that was par for the course. And Lauren was his big sister, that was her job.

But to hear it from a veteran Yellow really was a stab in the heart. Yeah, he figured that Taylor was probably still upset that he and Cole had fought...that is if Deker was Cole.

He tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep, knowing that he had to do something because he was going nowhere fast.

Then, the words of his sister came floating back to him. Prophetic words.

 **"Be ready to change your plans on the fly. I know you've already thought of a plan, and if it works, great, but the best generals are able to adjust on the fly."**

Boy, she'd never been more right. Something was off that was keeping him from progressing where he wanted to go. The trick was finding out what it was.

 **Sunday, June 17, 2012**

 **2:30 a.m local time**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

24 hours later, Jayden felt a little bit better, but he was really glad that he had the day off today.

He'd had to more than extend himself again, this time fighting Xander Bly of Mystic Force, one of the five "Retro Rangers" of 2007. In fact, it had taken all of his strength and power just to get to a stalemate with Xander.

So how is this possible again, Jayden wondered in frustration. The way this was going, he was going to be cannon fodder by the time Maligore's army got to Earth. He was going to extend himself too much, would tire himself out and would never reach his full potential.

He was convinced more than ever that something had to change.

For now, he was wondering where the hell he was. This was one of those weird dreams again.

In this dream, he was standing before some sort of temple, with fire all around him. This was actually a very comfortable place for him whereas it would have been unbearable for others.

Better question than where was he, was what was he doing here.

That was when the ghostly image of two different birds, one a pink crane, appeared to his left, and the other, a white falcon appeared on his right.

 **'Greetings, young Phoenix,'** a ghostly female voice said. **'It is a pleasure to finall meet you in person.'**

 ** _"Mom, is that...you?"_** Jayden blurted out. He knew it probably wasn't but it didn't hurt to ask.

 **'No, I'm not her, but it's a good guess.'** the female voice said again. Jayden could now only assume that at least a part of his mother's spirit was talking to him.

 **'I am called Taregan, young Phoenix. Do you have any idea what Taregan means?'**

Jayden racked his brain trying to find an answer. He still had no answer five minutes later.

 **'I see you don't know. That's not unexpected so don't hang your head,'** the female voice told him. **'Taregan, quite literally, is the Algonquin Native American translation for Crane. I am your mother's spirit animal.'**

Jayden immediately turned right when he saw the white falcon's eyes glow gold.

 **'I am called Chayton; it is a pleasure to meet you as well,'** the white bird said. **'As you can probably guess, Chayton is the Sioux Native American translation for Falcon. You can probably guess that I am your father's spirit animal.'**

 **'And we are here to help you with your problem, Jayden,'** Taregan said. **'You look worn out. You expended a great deal of energy today fighting.'**

 _ **"Yes, and I don't know why,"** _ Jayden said. _**"We're two weeks in, I am fighting various Rangers and gaining more experience, yet I don't feel I'm getting anywhere. Every fight is a struggle and it takes all my mental and physical strength just to go toe to toe with these Rangers."**_

 ** _"Taylor Earhardt, Meyers whatever she is, chided me recently, saying she wasn't that impressed with me,"_ ** Jayden continued. _**"That hurt."**_

 **'Taylor is a very skilled Yellow there is no doubt but she was wrong to do what she did,'** Taregan said. **'I will read her the riot act if Tommy doesn't do it first.'**

 **'Part of it is due to experience. You are practicing well, but you just need more experience,'** Chayton said. **'There is another thing you must consider.'**

 **'Before I make my suggestion, Jayden, I want to say that I admire your plan. It's a good plan,'** Taregan said. **'You think that if you move in with Dr. Oliver that my spirit sister's evil half will notice the connection. You don't want Flammia to know what you're doing. It's a great thought.'**

 **'But here's the thing. It will be so much easier for you if you are that much closer to the holders of the Great Power. We're a family, Jayden, and the holders of the Ninjetti can feel each other's pain and every emotion you can imagine,'** Taregan said. **'The longer you live in the Shiba House, the harder it will be for you to truly reach what you can be because you won't have the necessary connection with your father and the holders of the Power.'**

This revelation made Jayden reel in shock. His Samurai team had been a family, a tight knit family, there was no question about that.

But he had completely underestimated just how closely linked the Ninjetti were, and specifically how closely linked he was to his father's and mother's animal spirits.

 **'You don't want her to notice and try to tighten her grip on the Crane, but here's the thing; Flammia can't do much about it,'** Chayton said. **'The Flame of Destruction needs Kimberly's body to live so she can't completely kill the Crane. She'll notice your power growing but she really won't be able to do anything to stop it because the Sentinel Knight is protecting Earth.'**

 **'Here's the cold hard truth: The sooner you move in with Dr. Oliver, the faster your abilities will grow, things will be a lot easier and the greater your connection with the Great Power will be. Think long and hard about that,'** Taregan said. **'Besides, even if you were to stay, you wouldn't be living in the Shiba house that much longer anyways.'**

 ** _"What do you mean by that?"_** Jayden asked.

 **'You will find out soon enough. For now, it is time for you to leave,'** Taregan said.

 **'And Jayden, may the Power protect you,'** Chayton added as Jayden's dream vanished.

Jayden went to splash water on his face, his customary action whenever he had weird dreams like this.

But in the end, he knew what must be done. For now at least, his time here was finished.

 **2:30 p.m local time**

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

To him, this was without question the happiest day of Dr. Thomas Oliver's life.

And the thing was, he hadn't expected for it to come this soon!

"You are 100 percent sure about this Jayden? You want to come to Reefside with me?" Tommy asked over his iPad. He was using the Rangers only app to talk to Jayden instead of over the phone where things could be monitored more closely by unwanted people.

 **"There is no doubt, Dad,"** Jayden said. **"For a number of reasons, not the least of which was another weird dream."**

"That seems to be a thing with you, you and weird dreams," Tommy said. "What was it this time?"

 **"Yours and Mom's spirit animals, most notably, giving me an education on how the Ninjetti powers work and why I have been having so many issues lately,"** Jayden said. **"Taregan and Chayton, they call themselves."**

"Yes, most if not all of our spirit animals have Native American based names. I myself am part Native American," Tommy said.

 **"Basically they said the longer I stay here, the more trouble I'm going to have getting to where I want to go. That's why I want to move ASAP."**

 **"They also said that even if I stayed I wouldn't be here for long,"** Jayden added. **"Do you have any information about that?"**

"Well, the first part of what you said, I am not surprised about," Tommy said. "It is true, the Ninjetti are a family, and we can feel each other's pain, suffering and everything else. I am sad that you've had to exert so much energy so far, but I think it probably will be easier if you move in with me."

"As for the second part, that part about not staying there for long, that does make me scratch my head a bit. I have not heard anything about that kind of stuff about where Rangers will stay, etc," Tommy said.

"This is a good time for you to move in as well," Tommy said. "I just got finished with my school year on Friday. I can be there some time this week to help you pack up."

"One other thing, on behalf of all of our family, I apologize for what Taylor said to you," Tommy said. "Believe you me I read her the riot act and I'm sure our spirit animals did as such too. I let her know on no uncertain terms that if she messes with you again I will make her unrecognizable."

 **"I'm not sure you needed to go that far,"** Jayden said, laughing slightly. **"I know why you did, but if anything it helped me. It gave me that kick in the pants to find out what was wrong and act on it. If anything, I needed it."**

Tommy was dumbfounded; he thought he was going to impose some basic rules for Jayden in the house. Now, he wasn't sure they were needed because of how disciplined Jayden appeared to be. If anything, the poor kid needed some fun at some point. If he didn't get the right amount of leisure, Jayden could crack under pressure which could mean certain defeat.

"So I can be there Friday. I'll even put it down, bring Jason and Kat and a few others, and we'll have the day to pack up, come back here and move you in. The Rangers who will help us can make it a three day weekend. That sound good?" Tommy asked.

 **"I'll plan for Friday. See you guys then,"** Jayden said.

"I look forward to it, and I can't wait to welcome you home where I feel you truly belong," Tommy said.

 **Friday, June 22, 2012**

 **10:00 a.m local time**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

As Jayden hauled an especially heavy item out of the house, he looked at at the number of cars that surrounded the Shiba House and thought to himself that a few Rangers didn't equal the amount of cars that surrounded the place.

He wasn't surprised that all of Zordon's original Rangers showed up to help move him out; he was a bit surprised that it happened after Tommy had insinuated that he was just bringing "a few Rangers."

Then again, it's not like he wasn't glad for the additional hands. He didn't have as much stuff to move out as, say, Mia or Emily who hoarded a lot of material things, but the additional hands on deck were making things a whole lot easier.

As he was about to go back in to help wherever it was needed, he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see his father right there.

"I was going to talk about this at some point, but the thing I hated most about you growing up was that you never got to attend school like I and the others did," Tommy said. Jayden nodded; that had been a huge disadvantage compared to kids his age, having been homeschooled most of his life.

"The good news is that once you move in and everything, in addition to your driver's license and working on that, you can still graduate at the high school level with a GED," Tommy said. "You may not have been able to have fun in high school like some of us did, but it can still work out in the end."

"Yeah, I don't turn 17 until September, so there's still time for that," Jayden said. "You know somebody?"

"Yeah, I do. She was one of my former instructors in Angel Grove, and she now specializes in GED teaching. Once I speak to her, she'll understand what's going on. She was visited by Zordon a year or two after his death, so she knows about us and he told her there would be a situation involving us where she would be needed," Tommy said. "She also greatly helped me with getting the current gig I have at Reefside High."

"I am quite sure that once she knows what's going on, she'll be more than happy to help," Tommy said, as he handed Jayden something. "Here, take this to the Jeep."

 **Saturday, July 7, 2012**

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

How things could change in a short time.

Again.

Two weeks into his journey with his new powers, Jayden had faced his first major hurdle. The obstacle of going nowhere fast and having the need to find the answer to the problem.

Ever since moving in with his dad, everything had changed.

Everything.

No longer were the days when he'd have to exert all the energy he had just to fight veteran Rangers. No longer were the feelings of coming up short of his true abilities.

Everything had come up roses in the last couple of weeks.

He'd moved in to a nice, if but quiet, house outside of Reefside. He'd had his father, and his "aunts" and "uncles" decorate his room as if he were royalty.

Shortly after he'd moved in, he also met with Tommy's old friend and former teacher Ms. Appleby from Angel Grove who immediately volunteered to help Jayden pursue his GED.

Ms. Appleby also had learned of what had happened to Kim and why Jayden and Tommy's family wasn't complete. She wished Jayden much luck on his quest, which he was grateful for.

Tommy was also working on a date and paperwork for Jayden to get his last name changed from Shiba to Oliver. Those proceedings were ongoing.

Maybe most importantly of all, Jayden's true abilities and powers were starting to come out. To reiterate, he wasn't having to overexert himself to fight Ranger veterans anymore.

Taregan and Chayton had been correct all along. Ever since he'd moved to Reefside, as hard as it had been for Mentor Ji to see Jayden go and now have to be by himself in the Shiba house (for now), Jayden knew that having the support of his father and his extended family every day was allowing him to flourish, in both body and mind.

Lauren had been correct too. Already he'd had to make his first adjustment and the battle hadn't even started yet. There was a really good chance he was going to have to make a lot more strategical changes, but with the Phoenix guiding him, he knew he could make the adjustments necessary when the "bullets started flying" so to speak.

That ability to flourish was allowing him to unlock new abilities he never thought he had and was making him a whole lot more difficult to take on.

Now, it was Ranger veterans who were lucky if they came away from Phaedos not beat up and bruised. In fact, yesterday he had his best day with possession of his new powers.

Yesterday he'd hit a milestone; he'd faced both Conner and Kira in combat and soundly whipped them both. In fact, Jayden still smiled when he thought of Conner and Kira complaining to Tommy that "Jayden was playing too rough."

To which Tommy replied, "Sucks to be you, but soon it's going to be Maligore and not you so stop complaining."

He didn't think he could take on Dulcea yet, but he knew if he kept improving he would be able to get to that point and would finally be able to claim his destiny. He knew he was going to get Taylor back too.

The Phoenix was just now beginning to take flight, in full.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	9. 9: Taking Flight Part II

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, the Samurai Rangers, from varying locations, watch Kevin compete in the London Olympics, and Jayden admits his love for Mia, continues in his new life and comes upon some new revelations. Warning: Jaymia in this chapter right off the bat.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me. This is my holiday present to all my readers. Happy Holidays no matter what you celebrate.

Chapter 9: Taking Flight Part II

 **Sunday, July 29, 2012**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

When news got out that a former Ranger was competing at the Olympic level in any sport, no matter who it was, everyone generally stopped what they were doing.

Especially when said Ranger, Kevin Hill, was rubbing shoulders with Olympic legends such as Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.

Two months earlier, Kevin was saving lives as a Power Ranger. Now, he was in speedos, continents away and he was part of another team. The United States Olympic Swimming Team and today, he was competing in the 4X100 freestyle relay. He would be competing in other events also but this was one all the Samurai team was waiting to see.

Jayden was pissed that he was forced to go back to the Shiba house to watch the events, but Dulcea had forbade him from watching it anywhere else. In her view, it would have aroused suspicion that something was different about Jayden and Dulcea didn't want the rest of the Samurai team outside Lauren to know about what was coming before they needed to.

In other words, she said, they needed time off. Jayden was pissed about it, but he agreed.

With Jayden back in his old stomping grounds, six of the seven Samurai Rangers were all on their Samuraizers chattering. Lauren and Antonio were doing this chat from the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Texas. By the way Lauren talked she couldn't wait to leave that part of the world.

Jayden shrugged nonchalantly at that; it was expected. Oppressively hot and humid climates, which was what the Gulf region was during the summer, did not appeal to Lauren. Still, she braved it for Antonio's sake.

Emily had not changed much in the two months since Xandred's defeat; her upbeat nature was still in place. It was Mike that had changed. He was a lot more serious now than he used to be and with good reason.

Shortly after Mike went to be with Emily, he'd found out his brother was in the United States Army and was overseas in the Middle East. That put a whole new light on things, and while Mike continued to live his life he was a lot more serious now than he used to be with his brother's life on the line every day.

And then there was Mia. Dear, sweet Mia.

She was briefly back him with her mother, Makiko, who had donned the Pink Samurai spandex before her. In two weeks she'd be starting her new journey at Rocky's cooking school.

Jayden was happy for her, but still he was going to find a moment when Kevin's stuff was all over to somehow get Mia here. There was something he needed to tell her. He couldn't say much, but he needed to say at least one thing.

 **One hour later**

"Well, it sucks that Kevin didn't make the finals, but that's a great accomplishment!" Emily beamed. Indeed, Kevin had made a good showing of himself. He wasn't going to compete past the prelims of this event (and it was near impossible since Lochte and Phelps would be on it), but he had made a good showing and was going to compete in further events.

Most of the Rangers had signed off to go on with their every day lives, but Jayden had asked Mia to stay on. Surprisingly, at least to Jayden, Mentor Ji had relented and allowed Jayden to do what he was planning to do; he had forbidden fraternization in the house when the team was fighting Xandred, but everyone was gone and on breaks now. As far as he was concerned, they could do what they pleased...within reason of course.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Mia said. "I'm assuming this is important if you asked me to stay on?"

"Yes, I do want to speak to you. Use your symbol power and teleport here please. This needs to be done in person," Jayden said. "It's important...to me at least."

Five minutes later, the former leader of the team that had sent the Nighlok packing for good was embracing his Pink teammate...a teammate that, she would soon find, was more valuable to her leader than she ever imagined.

"Mia, I'm going to cut right to the chase," Jayden said. "I admit, here and now, I made a mistake when we were fighting the Nighlok. I missed the boat on something that was way more important than any battle, anything we ever did, etc."

"Mia Watanabe, I have no clue how you feel about me but I love you more than anything in this world, and if you were in danger of losing your life, I'd risk everything to go save you," Jayden said.

Mia let the tears flow from her eyes. This was worth coming back, at least briefly, for. Finally, her over-serious leader had let the cat out of the bag.

"I've thought this ever since the fiasco where the brides of Panorama City got kidnapped, but I couldn't say it because Ji wouldn't let us fraternize in the house and because we had an enemy to defeat," Jayden said.

"You goofball, you could have at least said something!" Mia said, smacking his arm playfully, still shaking at this revelation. "I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. Well before said incident."

"I almost risked everything for Emily during the Splitface fight, but if you were the one in danger I would have gone in no questions asked," Jayden said. "No one could have stopped me."

Jayden paused for a few moments before looking at Mia seriously again. He could at least tell her this, though he couldn't say any more.

As he was about to speak, she looked at him closely and noticed something...different about Jayden.

She couldn't put her finger on what was going on, but he was decidedly different than when she'd last seen him. Before she could say any more, she was cut off.

"Mia, there's one more thing I want you to do," Jayden said.

"What's that?"

"Be prepared and don't put your Samuraizer away completely," Jayden said. "One day, we'll have to save the world again."

"And you know this...how? The Nighlok are gone," Mia said.

"They may be gone but evil never rests and there are a lot worse out there than them," Jayden said.

"Yeah, Lothor was no picnic, Cam and the guys talk about him all the time," Mia said.

Jayden nodded, but left what he really wanted to say unsaid.

That being, he wished it was Lothor that they would face next. After all, his mother had kicked Lothor's ass twice so how difficult was he really?

"Just please, keep your Samuraizer ready. When evil strikes, we need to be ready to fight. Go on with your life, but stay sharp and stay ready," Jayden said.

"OK, I will. I should probably get back, Mom was making dinner," Mia said.

Jayden formed a small smile; her family was really important to her which was partially what drew him to her.

"Until we meet again, Mia, remember...I'll always love you," Jayden said. "Rangers together..."

"Lovers forever."

 **Eltarian Capital City**

 **Same Time**

Of course, what was left of Jayden's mother had sensed the whole thing unfolding. She knew it would be a special day simply because a Power Ranger was getting ready to compete at a level she once had dreams of competing at.

But she hadn't been prepared for that. Her sweet, darling child had admitted he loved someone. A Pink no less.

She was happy for him although it irritated her that Jayden and Mia had done the same thing she and Tommy did back in the day. Basically, they tap danced around each other but this was for about a year and a half.

Granted, Mentor Ji had rules, and she respected that. One of which was no fraternization in the house. In her day, Zordon had been a lot more lenient with what was acceptable behavior. As long as the team followed Zordon's three rules they were fine.

She appreciated Ji putting his foot down because she didn't want the same thing happening to Jayden and Mia that she and Tommy did, but in her opinion it had hurt the team even though they won against Xandred, and it hurt her son mentally as well. And she never wanted her son to be limited in his abilities.

Better late than never, though, she thought.

Of course, when the bullets really started flying, she was sure her evil half would find out that Mia was Jayden's weakness. She privately said prayers most days for Mia because when her evil half found out Jayden and Mia were lovers, Mia was going to get tortured.

That was for later though. Today had been a special day.

 **Monday, July 30, 2012**

 **Phaedos**

As she watched Jayden continue to train in combat, Dulcea nodded, pleased with how he was coming along. She could also see he was more relaxed than at any time since he'd come to Phaedos to get ready for the impending battle that was coming. That was a good thing.

Today he was taking on his Uncle Andros and Aunt Ashley, and though he couldn't gain an upper hand on the veteran Rangers, clearly he wasn't expecting himself to; after all, they were the last of Zordon's era. Jayden had figured out a while ago that he didn't need to outduel Rangers in combat, just needed to hold his own and do so without exerting himself too much. Clearly, he was demonstrating that ability.

He was tired and had taken a beating, but so had his opponents. Dulcea could see Jayden preparing to square off against his two opponents again, but Dulcea decided that she didn't need to see any more today.

"Enough!" Dulcea barked; immediately, the three Rangers present turned to the Master Warrior.

"Good job, all of you," Dulcea said. "Andros, Ashley, you are excused. I wish to have a few moments privately with Jayden."

"Yes, ma'am," Andros said; a few moments later, the two were teleported back to Angel Grove to resume their daily lives.

Dulcea smiled at Jayden once she had him alone; it wouldn't be long before he would be able to face her and possibly go on his quest for his powers.

"That was your best effort yet, young Phoenix," Dulcea said. "You seem more happy today than at any point since you started training here. Want to talk about it?"

Jayden hadn't expected that question, not at that moment. Still, he composed himself enough to form a response.

"It's...I love someone...one of my former teammates...I finally told her last night after we watched Kevin in the Olympics..." Jayden said.

"It's your Pink teammate, isn't it?" Dulcea said. It was more of a response than a question. Jayden was flabbergasted. The Great Power really was beyond his wildest comprehension. Otherwise there was no way Dulcea could know he was in love with Mia.

"Yes, it is," Jayden said. "We danced around each other for a year and a half. Sadly, that's my fault."

"Not all of it is," Dulcea said. "After all, you couldn't be together in the Shiba house could you?"

"Not really. Ji put his foot down pretty much from day one on that," Jayden said.

"I will have a talk with him about that, Jayden. That was a mistake. He did it with the Samurai predecessors too and I thought it was a mistake then as well," Dulcea said. "It's normal to be in love with someone; it's wrong to at least not say it."

"You're not concerned about her at all, are you?" Dulcea said.

"Not really. Maybe I'm not as worried as I should be but I know Mia. She's a tough customer," Jayden said. "She can give as well as take. When the going gets tough, I know she'll come through."

"She will be an invaluable asset to you in this war...and she could also be your greatest weakness," Dulcea said.

Jayden's face formed a look of confusion, which was the signal for Dulcea to continue with her point.

"Once this battle starts and you claim your powers, Flammia will realize that her army cannot match you physically so she'll try and break you down mentally," Dulcea said. "That's where Mia comes in."

"It's tried and true throughout every team in history," another voice, clearly female, said. "Zeddy here and I tried that many times with your mother and your father."

From the shadows, two figures came forth. One, clearly female, was dressed in a white robe. Jayden could sense an aura of wisdom within her that had come with experience. The other, he could tell from the red shirt, had been the former Emperor of Evil once upon a time.

"Ah, Zedd, Rita, I had not expected you to show up today," Dulcea said.

"Yeah, today's pretty boring, so we decided to come see the Phoenix in action," Rita said. "Hi, Jayden, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rita, also known as the Mystic Mother, and this is my husband Zedd. He was once Lord Zedd, but hasn't been since Zordon's wave."

"Dad told me about you two in the video. He said you guys carry wisdom and knowledge with you from your experiences," Jayden said. "Pleased to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet the one who will save the world and bring his family back together," Zedd said. Jayden could barely hide his surprise. These two obviously knew a lot and they had surpreme confidence in him.

"We're here to talk to you today about Pinks and how they can become your weakness, and specifically Mia," Rita said. "Jayden, it's easy to say you trust Mia now, but I'm here to tell you things will get really tough for her once this battle starts."

"She will need you more than ever," Zedd said. "She can handle herself, but there will be days where she gets the crap beat out of her."

"When we were married, we targeted your mother. A lot. She was your father's weakness because he would do anything to save her," Rita said. "When you were about two months old, Kat, before she became a Ranger, stole Kim's power coin at our bidding. The plan was to use Kim as ransom to make the Rangers fight with the Shogunzords, which we controlled at the time."

"Your father...actually came to my Dark Dimenson...and beat me," Zedd said. "In single combat. He risked everything to save your mother."

"The point we're trying to make to you is this, Jayden," Rita said. "There's no doubt Mia is a tough customer and can handle herself but when this battle starts, she will be in for some tough days ahead. I cannot say whether Mia will be used as an evil warrior against you, but I am quite sure Flammia will attempt to use her as blackmail at the very least."

"You say you trust her, but there will be days ahead where you will have to fight the urge to go rescue her all by yourself," Zedd added. "She can be used as bait to destroy you in any number of ways."

Jayden mutely nodded; he fully understood now.

When he got his powers, he was going to be awesome physically. But his mental state and how he responded to certain situations could very well be a deciding factor in the outcome of this war.

"Before we adjourn, I have a question I want to ask all of you," Jayden said. "Some weeks ago I was visited by Mom and Dad's spirit animals. That visit by the way is what prompted me to move in with Dad. In that visit they said that even if I stayed at the Shiba house I wouldn't be there long."

"What did they mean by that? Is something going to happen there that I don't want to know about?"

Now it was Zedd, Rita and Dulcea's turn to be surprised. If they thought Jayden would ask any question, it would be about Deker and Cole. Not about this.

Jayden saw the trio huddle up briefly, and Dulcea nod her head. He suspected he was going to get his answer soon, and he was right.

"Nothing is going to happen to the Shiba house; that place will always be protected no matter what. In fact, the meaning is quite positive for you and all Rangers. What they meant was this," Dulcea said. "If you can reach your morpher and your powers, not only will you gain control of the powers I have mentioned to you, but the destruction of the Power Chamber by Divatox will be reversed."

"Only it will be made better," Rita said. "The new Ranger Chamber of Command, as it will be if you reach your powers, will have eight or nine levels. On those levels will include a mess hall, living quarters, a state of the art workout area and pool, meeting room that will be just like the room the Rangers met in at the old Command Center but will be up to date, and much more."

"in addition, your Phoenix powers will provide the Chamber with the ultimate protection," Zedd added. "No force of evil and no government official will be able to enter the new Chamber of Command."

"Good," Jayden said bluntly. "That's all we need is the government in DC up in our business."

"When I asked Dad about this question, he seemed to know nothing about it. Is he feigning ignorance or does he really not know?" Jayden said.

"You are the first to know, aside from those of us insiders who know what's going to happen when you get your powers," Dulcea said.

"I suppose I should be heading back," Jayden said. "Dad's going to be worried I'm staying too long. Zedd, Rita, good to meet you."

"I am pleased and honored to meet the mighty Phoenix," Rita said. "May the Power protect you, Jayden."

 **Sunday, August 5, 2012**

 **3:30 p.m local time**

 **Silver Hills, CA**

The last week, at times, had been very rewarding for Jayden, and at times, very difficult.

It was hard not to pay attention to the Olympics; they were on everywhere one looked it seemed. And for those who didn't watch it, there were about a million apps for the Games as well.

And while he was happy for Kevin's success in the swimming sector, it was hard for Jayden not to watch the gymnastics and get misty-eyed.

If fate had been a little kinder, damn it, his mother could have been maybe the coach of the US team these days. What could have been.

That said, the week had been very rewarding. He was still on schedule as far as getting his powers. In addition, Miss Appleby was working him over good on GED material, but he was proving he was a fast learner in that regard too. Miss Appleby loved working with him and cursed the fates every day that he hadn't had the life normal kids had.

There was a lot of gymnastics at the Olympics that was on that day, so Wes and Jen had opted to come and spoil Jayden for the day. Kat and Jason would have, but Kat was in New York preparing for a show.

Jen especially loved spoiling her nieces and nephews and Jayden was no exception. Anything he wanted, he got. So when Jayden said he wanted a day at the amusement park, Jen readily agreed, laughing a bit as she did so considering how Jayden didn't go to the amusement park with his team that one time a couple of years ago. Silver Hills had a big amusement park, one of the biggest in the state, so it was perfect.

It was a much needed day of fun for her and Wes too. In addition to taking care of their children, Amber and Schuyler, or Sky as he liked to be called, both had been really busy at work.

Curretnly they were on one of the two biggest roller coasters in the park, but Jayden considered it more of a thrill ride and a rush than a dance with death. Compared to the life and death scenarios he had faced and would face, this was trivial and fun.

"How are you feeling?" Jen asked after the ride finally came to a stop.

"Like that was fun and that I'm ready for more. I could use something to eat though," Jayden said.

"I could too; see, there's an ice cream stand over there," Jen said. "Let's go get something."

She jogged off towards the stand and Jayden, laughing inside, followed her over.

As the group of five, two adults, one teen and two kids, sat down to eat following their orders, Jayden looked at Wes and Jen with admiration. Clearly, they were one big happy family and that's exactly what he wanted.

"I can't thank you guys enough," Jayden said as he put an arm around the two former Time Force Rangers. "I needed this day and obviously you guys wanted this day for me too."

"We love you Jayden, LOVE you," Jen responded, hugging him tightly as she did so. "I love all my nieces and nephews and so does Wes but none more so than you. That fate prevented you from having a family in the first place is terrible and we'll do all way can to help you rectify that situation."

"We'll always be here for you, Jayden, as will every one of our brothers and sisters," Wes said.

"Yeah!" Amber squealed in a cute, five year old voice.

"Come here, you guys," Jayden said as Amber and Sky held him tight. Jayden continued to eat his ice cream, being careful not to spill it on the two kids. Then again, with the way their family operated they'd probably forgive him even if he did spill ice cream.

It was a day of fun that was sorely needed, because the battle and much more difficult times were fast approaching.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	10. 10: Ring of Fire Part I

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter Jayden earns the right to start on his quest, which takes him to a familiar, dangerous tropical island, and Flammia heads for Tarmac 3 in hopes of getting a key ingredient to invading Earth.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me. Chapter title is derived from the Johnny Cash song of the very same name.

Chapter 10: Ring of Fire Part I

 **August 13, 2012**

 **Phaedos**

She watched intently from the plateau as Jayden continued his training (today he was going against Jason and surprisingly, at least to her, was holding his own very well), and though her stoic, beautiful face wouldn't allow her true feelings to show through, Dulcea the Master Warrior was more than proud of the Phoenix.

He was getting better each day and the day was drawing very close to where she would get to face him, and then would be the true test of how much he'd improved.

Truth be told though, she wasn't so sure he wasn't ready right now. She wasn't about to rush the process, but she wondered if the time was about right, both mentally and physically.

First of all, she was astonished by how fast Jayden was. It wasn't necessarily that he was blinding fast when he attacked, but he was quick on his feet and could move quickly into good fighting positions, faster than a lot of Rangers.

She supposed he got that from his mother. Of the early sets of Rangers, Kimberly Hart was arguably the quickest one there was, and like most gymnasts balance was a strong suit for her.

His supreme physical condition was off the charts as well. No matter what anyone did to him, he kept coming and coming and coming and did so for hours. She supposed the Samurai life helped with that, but at nearly 17 years old he was in the best condition of his life.

And his confidence was growing too. Over the last two weeks or so, he'd proven he could go head to head with his aunts and uncles...even his godfather as today was proving.

Suddenly, she heard a rumble and the ground quaked beneath her feet...everyone's feet for that matter.

It couldn't be...she thought, no, that wasn't it, she couldn't feel any evil spirits near the planet.

Then her eyes shifted to the right, near where Jayden and Jason were sparring, to where she could feel the power coming from. Before she could think any further, the ground gave way and swallowed Jayden as he fell through the ground. Mysteriously, once he fell through the ground, the quake stopped.

The noise had brought Billy out too. He joined Jason in the Temple, and the two had faces that were lined with worry. Where was Jayden and what happened to cause him to just fall through the ground?

As if to answer, Dulcea said, "You'll find out soon enough."

30 minutes later, the two felt a slight breeze emanating from the hole that Jayden had fallen through. A moment later they found out why.

Up through the hole came Jayden...and he was FLYING! With wings extended from his back and everything. This made Dulcea smile.

"He has fully mastered his flight capability," she said. She knew that already, he had worked hard in practicing his ability to fly, but she was simply relaying it to Jason and Billy.

"Not only that...what is that weapon he's got in his hand?" Jason muttered. Before he could say anything else, Jayden suddenly landed in front of his two uncles and Dulcea, weapon in hand.

"Finally, a weapon of great power has been unleashed," Dulcea said. "The one true Sword of Light, known from this day forward as the Phoenix Fire Sword."

"That one we used years ago..." Billy said.

"Was a replica," Dulcea said. "It could do certain things, but couldn't do everything this weapon can. The Phantom Ranger knew that Zedd would come looking for the sword thousands of years ago, so he created a replica and put it on the Deserted Planet. This one has been hidden for thousands of years, waiting for its rightful owner."

"And it chose me?" Jayden said.

"It did indeed," Dulcea said. "This shows me how far you have come, for this weapon to have chosen you. Even if an evil entity wanted to use this weapon, it couldn't. If any evil entity even tried to touch this sword it would not be pretty for them."

"How close am I to facing you?" Jayden asked Dulcea as he sheathed his new weapon.

"Very close indeed," Dulcea said. "We could do it any time but I'd rather not rush things. Just know this; the day will come very soon."

 **August 24, 2012**

 **Eltarian Capital City**

 **Eltar**

The situation she was in these days made Lady Flammia want to release her pent up frustration in full.

Because that what she was...frustrated. Because essentially, she and her army were stuck.

They'd conquered all of the meaningful planets except one...any other conquest before "the big one" as Lady Flammia termed it would simply be overkill at this point. Eltar, conquered. Andresia, no contest. Inquiris, conquered. Edenoi, conquered and Dex was prisoner and on and on it went.

The problem is those blasted Rangers had been smart enough to lock down their planets. Earth was protected by a powerful shield enacted by a former Ranger ally. Gratha was conquered but you couldn't get to Aquitar on pain of death either and Dulcea still had her shield going strong on Phaedos.

Speaking of Phaedos, that concerned her just as much as being stuck in the mud not being about to blow things up and conquer planets.

She'd reread the Phoenix prophecy over and over and over. The chosen one obviously wasn't Nick Russell, the one who had defeated Octomus. He was a Phoenix, but not Ninjetti and had never held a Samurai power before either.

And besides if he was the chosen one then this Phoenix power wouldn't be growing stronger and stronger by the day. Oh, they could all feel it. The fluctuations in the Grid were growing stronger, this Phoenix power was off the charts and the longer Flammia's army sat on their asses and did nothing about it, the tougher it would be to stop this power from growing.

That is, if they weren't far too late already.

That pesky Crane wasn't about to give up her secret either. Kimberly's evil half wanted that secret but it was obvious that what remained of Kim wasn't about to give it up on pain of death.

It was time to press the issue, Flammia thought. And she knew just where to go to do it.

"Scorpina, report!" Flammia bellowed.

Moments later, Scorpina and her daughter were standing before their Mistress.

"Good morning your Majesty," Scorpina said.

"Good morning to you too," Flammia said. By the tone of her voice, Scorpina knew something was up.

"Gather some of our best soldiers," Flammia said. "We're going to Tarmac 3."

"And why, pray tell are we going to conquer that pissant planet?" Scorpina said.

"Because, my dear Scorpina, it is by conquering that planet, and by conquering a certain someone, that we will be able to earn our ticket to invade Earth," Flammia said. "Now gather the army. We leave as soon as you are ready."

Not long after, Flammia's army was gathered and was on its way to Tarmac 3. Because they knew that if they even attempted to conquer this planet their desired target would come. And it was exactly what they wanted.

Their departure, however, did not go unnoticed.

As the Dark Fortress Mark II zoomed towards Tarmac 3, Flammia was happy, but was unnerved that what remained of the Crane seemed relaxed too. None of the taunts worked anymore.

 **'Even if you get what you want, you're too late to stop what is coming. Sorry, sweetheart, you've already lost,'** came the voice of what remained of Kimberly Hart.

"Don't you know that after we're done on Tarmac 3 we're going to conquer Earth and finish our stranglehold on the rest of the Universe? Then, what remains of your pathetic soul will be MINE!"

 **'Oh you think you've already won. Big mistake, sweetheart. The Chosen One is coming, and you are too late to stop him.'**

"We'll see," Flammia snapped.

 **Aug. 27, 2012**

 **Phaedos**

The minute Jayden stepped through the invisiportal via his father's house which brought him to Phaedos, Dulcea could see the difference in expression on his face. This wasn't the carefree, loose Jayden today.

He was all business.

"I take it you know of what's going on, right?" he said as he met Dulcea at the temple. "You know what my mother's evil half wants on Tarmac 3."

"Indeed I do," Dulcea said. "I can feel it in the air as well. We must waste no more time, and you have improved more than enough. Today, you are facing me. And if you are successful, then I will send you on your quest."

As Jayden expected, his test against Dulcea was long and grueling. It came in several various forms. The first part of it, hand to hand combat, forbade Jayden from using any of his magical powers; he could use only his sword and his two bare hands. For a few minutes even, Dulcea used her powers while Jayden couldn't.

This was where his Samurai training came in handy; a lot of hand to hand combat was used in the Samurai life, and he proved he could easily go hand to hand with anyone. As for his opponent's magical powers, he just simply avoided that as best he could. He got hit a few times but nothing severe.

The middle part was the easiest part; anything goes. All powers were in play, and his power level was rapidly ascending. He also learned recently that like his father, he has the power of invisibility on a limited basis. If he could get to his morpher, then he'd be able to use it full time. For right now, he used it once or twice, but not for very long.

Dulcea shook her head when that part of it was over; both had taken a beating but if anything, Dulcea had it a little bit worse. Jayden's power level almost matched hers at this point.

Even before they started their third and final part, she already knew she was sending him out there to claim his powers. He was ready; he still had things to learn, but he was ready. Probably was ready beforehand.

The third and final part was interesting; all powers were in play like the last part, but this was more mental than anything. In this part, she'd try and use her mental capabilities to put him in bad situations similar to what he might see once this battle began. There too though, he exceeded her expectations. He got fooled on some situations, but others he did well. No doubt, she thought, he was using the Phoenix spirit inside him to guide him.

Finally, when it was all over, the young Ninjetti and the age old Master Warrior embraced.

"I almost hate for this to end, Jayden," Dulcea said. "You have improved so much since you came here. Just know that the battles ahead will be tough, but if you believe, anything is possible."

He didn't miss how she looked at him either. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought she wanted to keep him longer because of his good looks. Come to think of it, that was something he'd have to watch out for. Evil villains trying to take advantage of his good looks to seduce him.

"Another of your mental tricks to prepare me for what's to come, Dulcea?" Jayden said. "You know I've already got a girl."

"Believe it or not, no," Dulcea said. "I just think Earth males in general are cute and you're no exception. It's selfishly one of the reasons I wish I could keep you longer."

"But, you are right. You do have a girl. And, you are ready and the time is drawing near to where Earth will be invaded. Just know that I wasn't kidding when I said this quest is long and arduous."

"How bad are we talking here?"

"Not only will you have to pass a physical test when you get to your Morpher, just as your parents did, it will be a bigger challenge than they had to go through. A much bigger challenge," Dulcea said, "And just to get there, your quest takes you through Rita's former Island of Illusions, which is a treacherous place that will test your level of confidence as it did your parents."

Jayden shivered. That didn't sound like fun at all.

"But how can that exist now? Rita is good and that island was destroyed," Jayden said.

"As part of this quest, I have put a temporary spell on Rita which reverted her back to her evil form for just this part of the quest. As soon as you complete that portion of the quest, that spell will fade as will the island and she will become the Mystic Mother again."

Jayden gulped noticeably. He would actually have to come face to face with Rita Repulsa at least once.

"In addition, you will witness all the ups and downs your parents have endured over the years since they became Rangers before, during and after their relationship. And when you get past that your mental state must be able to be in tact enough to face your phsyical challenge at the end."

"I take it there's a lot of dark events that I'll be witnessing?"

"Far more dark events than positive events. A lot more dark events," Dulcea said.

Jayden shivered again, though he wasn't surprised.

"Also know that you'll only be there to view those events. No one will know that you are there and you won't be able to do anything about them. Understood?" Dulcea said.

Jayden nodded bluntly. How he wished that past events could be changed but they couldn't.

"I have one more question that I've been meaning to ask," Jayden said. "Was Deker Cole Evans? I have been meaning to ask that question but I keep forgetting."

"That will be included in your quest, but for your reference yes he was. It was an accident; no fault of his," Dulcea said. Jayden nodded; he wasn't surprised. The resemblance was too uncanny.

"Where's the path that I need to take?" Jayden asked.

"To your right. Look in your heart and seek guidance from the Phoenix, and it will not steer you wrong, just as it never has before. There is one more person I brought here who would like to wish you well on your quest."

Jayden saw a streak of white light touch down, and immediately knew who it was.

"Dad," Jayden said, as father and son embraced one more time.

"I couldn't let you go on this quest without saying goodbye and good luck first," Tommy said.

"The quest that Dulcea laid out is indeed difficult, Jayden. Viewing the things your mother and I have had to go through is not easy for anyone and won't be easy for you either. But you've already overcome a lot and your resilience is unmatched by anyone that I have seen wear a Ranger suit," Tommy said. "Your belief in yourself and the ability to conquer improbable odds is what gives you a chance to claim what is yours. It will not be easy, but I have confidence in you."

"As a reminder though, I don't need to tell you what happens if you come up short. All of us will die should your quest come up empty," Tommy said. "The stakes are high. Keep that in mind."

"Your father and I wish you both the best of luck," Dulcea said. "May the Power protect you and keep you safe on this quest, young Phoenix."

Both of them smiled ruefully as he started down the path...hopefully, they thought, to claim greatness.

A few moments after he left, Dulcea and Tommy went back inside her Temple, where they found Billy waiting for them.

"Jayden is ready and I sent him on his quest. In addition, Flammia is on her way to Tarmac 3...actually she's probably pretty close to there by now," Dulcea said.

Billy gulped. It was only a matter of time before she invaded that planet...and if she got what she wanted, or rather, who she wanted, then Earth wouldn't be safe for much longer.

 **Several Earth hours later**

On Phaedos, days were much shorter than they were on Earth, so when Jayden had started this quest, nightfall had come. He was also quite tired from his match with Dulcea and he knew he'd need all his strength when things really started getting testy.

Therefore, he'd sat down to rest for a while. Much like the path that his aunts, uncles and parents had taken to get their powers, this path took him through the Neola Jungle, although this path was decidedly different from the ones his parents had taken.

When the sun rose again the next Phaedos day, which in reality took off only several hours on Earth, he knew it was time to get moving again. So, he grabbed some fruits and nuts indigenous to the planet because he would need any sort of strength he could get, and then continued down the path.

About an hour after that, he came to the edge of the forest...only to find a massive Phoenix with its beaked mouth open. It didn't look to be alive but it did engulf the road.

It still looked intimidating.

 **'Step inside, Jayden. This is where your quest truly begins,'** came the voice inside his head.

That made sense, Jayden thought. At the end of the forest when his parents went on their quest was the Monolith. It made sense there would be something like this here.

"Here goes nothing," Jayden mumbled as he stepped towards the massive bird and stepped inside. The second he stepped inside, he felt himself falling through space and time.

When he finally got his bearings, he found himself on a tropical island.

It seemed pleasant enough, but his senses were tingling. Something was going to happen any second.

He couldn't have been more right.

"I see the so-called savior of the Earth has come," a raspy female voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard said. "Well, we'll see how good you are all right."

Jayden whipped his head around to see a familiar face etched in the sky, but this one was decidedly different.

Instead of a white robe, and good wisdom that rivaled Zordon's this woman was dressed in a hideous outfit and evi energy dripped off her in waves.

"Rita!" Jayden barked. He tried to sound angry, but really it was a facade. He knew Dulcea had done this to be part of his quest.

"We'll see how your confidence is now, young Phoenix. Welcome to my island, where nothing is ever as it seems. Welcome to my Island of Illusion."

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	11. 11: Ring of Fire Part II

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter includes Jayden's quest in full.

Also, Lauren gathers together the Samurai Rangers for the biggest fight of their lives, and various Ranger leaders do the same for their teams. Warning: Character death involved here which will allow for Flammia's invasion. Yes this is a long chapter. Lot of material.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me. Chapter title is derived from the Johnny Cash song of the very same name.

Chapter 11: Ring of Fire Part II

 **August 28, 2012**

 **The Island of Illusions**

Jayden tried not to show he was nervous, tried to give out the facade that he could take on the world, but he wasn't a very good liar.

In truth, the butterflies were growing in the pit of his stomach.

Sure, it helped in a way that he didn't have the excess baggage that some of his aunts and uncles had when they first came here. His uncle Zack's perpetual fear of spiders was patently ridiculous.

And his parents, he could only imagine the baggage they came here with. Kim had family issues even though they were not used against her here, and Tommy had to fight the specter of almost destroying his friends.

Still, he did have his fears and insecurities and here he would either take his first step towards immortality...

or vanish forever, never to be seen again, potential utterly wasted.

The good news was that he had one ace up his sleeve that the others didn't have. And he was going to use it.

No, he didn't have any physical powers. Those wouldn't work in this dimension.

But he still had the Phoenix, with all its wisdom and guidance. He just hoped that would be enough.

He didn't have much longer to wait, as he continued down a dirt path, the same dirt path his parents, aunts and uncles had taken a number of years earlier.

He suddenly stopped as he rounded a corner. There, standing right in front of him were two Nighloks, one half and one full, that he thought he'd never see again.

The first one was all too familiar to him. There, with Urumasa in hand, was his measuring stick...the one that just wouldn't seem to die already.

Deker.

The other Nighlok, the full Nighlok, was no picnic either.

Robtish. The Nighlok who had thrown him around like a rag doll the last time the two faced each other.

Jayden remembered him from the time he left the Shiba house the FIRST time; that time he'd done it in the middle of the night. It was then he learned that he needed his teammates as much as they needed him.

"Hello, Red Ranger," Deker hissed, as he pulled Urumasa out. "It seems that you and I cross paths again."

Jayden didn't budge though. He knew better.

"You aren't alive. You're not real and I'm not going to waste my time with you two," Jayden snapped. "Now if you'll get out of my way I've got goals to accomplish."

"If you don't prepare to fight then you won't get your goals accomplished," Deker retorted. With that, Deker and Robtish started toward Jayden with menacing looks in their eyes.

Still, Jayden stood strong. Sure enough, right as Deker and Robtish neared Jayden, preparing to strike, the two Nighloks suddenly vanished into thin air.

Jayden breathed a sigh of relief, then scoffed. Was this supposed to be a real test?

"Rita, if you're listening, that was terrible," Jayden said as he looked to the sky. "That was low hanging fruit and too easy. Come on, I know you can do better than that."

Rita's face suddenly appeared in the sky again...and she was not a happy camper though Jayden was sure her good half was smiling right now.

"Oh you've got a big mouth all right," Rita said. "But I shouldn't be surprised, that does run in your stupid family after all. Taking after your cocky father and smart-ass mother I see."

"You're damn right I have a big mouth," Jayden said. "And I don't think you'll shut it up. But at least do better than Deker and Robtish."

"Oh I'm going to make you pay for your cocky remarks all right," Rita said. "You'll see."

Rita then disappeared, and Jayden muttered, "Yeah, bring it on, witch."

With careful trepidation, Jayden continued to explore the island, walking through parts of the island that his aunts and uncles hadn't been through when they were here about 20 years ago.

If only it wasn't infested with such evil magic, Jayden thought. Otherwise, it was a pretty nice island.

Some time later, as he came out from the shelter of a few trees, which reduced the heat and humidity on the island somewhat, he heard a noise to his left. Curiosity got the best of him, so he looked to his left and saw a woman fumbling around for something she'd apparently lost.

The woman appeared to be in her mid to late 50s and didn't appear to have the movement in her body that she may have had about 10 or 15 years ago, so Jayden was compelled to help.

"Excuse me miss, did you drop something?" Jayden said. He wasn't prepared for what came next.

What came next, after the woman spotted him and looked up at him was a hard slap to the face. It surprised Jayden enough that he reeled back a step.

"What was that about?" Jayden blurted out. "There's no I need to be aggressive with me, I can help you find what you need."

That was a big mistake, Jayden thought. The hatred in the woman's eyes was very clear. What wasn't clear was why; Jayden had never met the woman before.

The hate that was in the woman's eyes was very clear and would be hard to get rid of.

"You!" the woman said. "You cost your mother her dream!"

"Uh, excuse me?" Jayden said.

"Don't play that game with me you illegitimate family member," the woman said. "It's a shame I didn't know about you back in 1995. I would have had you killed before you were even born if I did. You're a stain on my legacy, and my daughter's as well. It's because of you that she left gymnastics. It's because of you, and that freak father of yours, that she's the monster she is today."

Jayden groaned inwardly. He knew Rita had successfully hit a nerve with this test, even though it possibly crossed some moral boundaries. There had always been that nagging feeling of wondering if he really was an illegitimate child to some on his mother's side of the family.

"Uh, you've only got that half right, lady," Jayden said defensively. "The only part you got right is it's because of me that she became the monster she is today. Because of that, I still have a chance to fulfill my destiny. And it's because of me that she'll come back home, where she belongs. And then maybe she'll give you a piece of her mind."

"You defeat her? You realize what she's done to more experienced holders of your precious Power, right? She conquered Mirinoi and an entire team without breaking a sweat," the woman sneered. "Please, an inexperienced fledgling like yourself could never beat a monster like that."

That final part did the trick, as Jayden suddenly began to feel himself fading in and out of existence. He had to think of something and fast!

Thinking quickly, he did the only thing he knew how to do; lean on his spirit animal for support. Sure enough, images began floating through his mind. Very recent images, in fact.

Images of him, Aisha and Ninjor beginning to bond together at the first meeting he had with one of the more experienced Rangers.

Images of him packing up, moving to his father's residence in Reefside.

Images of him working with his father and his father's old friend Ms. Appleby on GED stuff.

And last but not least, his Phoenix, his spirit animal, destroying both the curse of Deker and "the big guy" himself in the span of a couple days.

With these images floating through his head, he slowly but surely fought back. This illusion had been a tough test, but illegitimate he was not.

Finally, with the last images of Deker and Xandred being destroyed, the illusion stopped and Jayden regained his full mental and physical faculties.

Unbeknownst to him, a familiar figure to some of the older Rangers was watching from high above, in the trees. He, the one known as Quagmire, thought he would be needed, but this Ranger he could tell wasn't like the rest. This Ranger was cocky, confident and loose. And he was powerful too.

Power radiated off this guy in waves.

Still, he knew the kid's toughest test was yet to come.

"He's got the method to beating illusions here down pat, but coming up we'll see if he really is all that," Quagmire thought.

"And a bag of chips," Quagmire added after that.

Meanwhile, while Jayden survived that round, he was shaken somewhat. He'd talked a big game about potentially showing up on Caroline Hart's doorstep in his own special way and giving her a piece of his mind about how he really felt about her...and how offended he was that she disliked his mother's relationship with his father.

It wasn't that easy, he realized. He had to come to grips with the fear of him being a reject, an illegitimate member of the family even though he beat the illusion. While those fears weren't true where his father and mother (well, her good half anyways) were concerned, he was going to have to go face to face with Caroline Hart someday, for real.

Perhaps this test would give him a good idea of how to deal with it, but it wasn't as easy as just showing up in Paris and giving Caroline a piece of her mind.

In the meanwhile, he had bigger issues to contend with, as he continued down the pathway.

 **August 28, 2012**

 **Just off the West Coast of Mexico**

Over the last three months, on waters the world over, Lauren Shiba and Antonio Garcia, on this fishing trip, had developed a bond with each other that few could match.

But as they looked at their devices which held each of their powers, they groaned.

Both their devices were glowing. There wasn't the bow and arrow deal that brought the team together the first time to fight Xandred, but the call was still the same.

During the trip, Lauren made a decision that she couldn't hide the truth about Jayden from Antonio any longer. As she was his adopted sister, and Antonio was his best friend, she felt the need to at least make him aware of what was going on.

In some ways Lauren regretted doing it, even though she knew that the truth had to be told. The price though, was that the normally cool, cocky Antonio Garcia was no longer present. Lauren had seen a different side of him; they both knew that when they got back home, they were going to be facing the fight of their lives.

While Antonio wholeheartedly backed his leader 100 percent, he left little doubt he hated the fate Jayden had been handed. Even worse, was his real family which long ago had been shattered in two. How much of a challenge was this going to be, going against Jayden's own mother, with basically the fate of the whole universe on the line?

"Do we need to take Red Lion home? Abandon this whole thing?" Antonio said. "We do have more than enough fish."

"No, not yet. We're almost home anyways; we'll be in San Diego in 24 hours. We'll take Red Lion home there. We'll tell everyone we have to get home, then we'll go."

"OK, then," Antonio said. "But I know that this means we need to get home as soon as possible."

 **August 28, 2012**

 **The Island of Illusions**

Meanwhile, back on the island, Jayden, after a brief rest, continued on down the path; he wisely decided to save his strength for what was to come after the illusion with Kimberly's mother. He wanted to get his quest done, but he also knew it would take time.

Time, unfortunately, was something he didn't have a lot of, but doing it right was more important than doing it wrong and not claiming his destiny.

Presently, he came to the edge of another wooded part of the island (he could tell from exploring it carefully that most of it had dense forest), and found he was on the beach.

But what surprised him more than anything was there were six people standing before him. Six people he knew quite well. From left to right, Mia, Kevin, Lauren, Mike, Emily and Antonio were waiting there, almost blocking the way.

And the one thing he noticed was that his adopted sister, Lauren, well in this illusion anyways, was standing front and center.

Uh oh.

"Hey, look, guys," Mike said. "There he is, the fake leader."

"Yeah," Emily said. "The guy who left us so he could finish his stupid duel with the pointless insignificant worm Deker."

"And to think I actually loved the man," Mia said. "Shows what I know. Who abandons the team at such a critical time?"

"I thought you were my best friend. I was wrong," Antonio added. "Your sister is a far better person than you ever were; she picked up the ball and ran with it when you left us high and dry."

"It turned out, we didn't really need your help, dear 'brother,'' Lauren added, driving the point home. "I sealed Xandred and everything is fine. Which further proves you were just the fake leader all along, as we all knew."

"You're disgusting. We're not even going to let you get a word in. Later, loser. Then again, you'll only be alive for a few more moments so have a nice afterlife. Hope that it's pleasant," Kevin said as they walked away.

All of the insults, even though Jayden knew they weren't true, cut him like a knife. This was by far his biggest fear of all, that he was simply a stand-in for his sister. That his sister was supposed to be the one to beat Xandred all along, not him. It made him feel second-rate.

He began to fade in and out again, but that didn't matter now. He knew what he had to do. And he had the evidence to fight the illusion.

He remembered the first time he rode up to his teammates on that horse, calling them for their first battle together.

The aftermath of the Splitface fight, and the celebration of Emily's birthday, including the card from her sister.

Celebrating holidays like Halloween and Christmas 2011, together, as a team.

How his teammates came to his rescue in the aftermath of the final fight with Deker.

And of course, the Rangers finally beating Xandred, as a team, even with the Gigazord falling apart at the seams.

And many more.

With every memory, his body began to come back into full view. And when the vision of the Rangers final fight with Xandred finished, he had regained his full mental and physical faculties, again.

As soon as that happened, he saw something appear on his wrist.

The significance of what he was looking at was not lost on him.

It was a communicator, fully functional and operational. It looked exactly like the communicators Zordon's Original Rangers had, except this one was colored a deep shade of crimson.

He then heard another voice, but it wasn't Rita's. It was another voice, distinctly male.

 **Well done, mighty Phoenix of majesty and fire**

 **Dream big and you can attain whatever your heart desires**

 **It is not easy to conquer this wicked, vile place**

 **Use every bit of your potential and you can win this race**

 **While more challenges remain that will put you to the test**

 **You can attain every goal you set forth if you are at your best**

 **Remember, without total victory the galaxy is resigned to a fate that sucks**

 **With that said, I wish you the very best of luck**

Before he could do anything else, he felt himself falling through time and space again.

When he got his bearings again, he was flat on his rump, in some other dimension he'd never been in before.

The dimension appeared all white, and unlike the island he'd just been on, he felt no danger here.

"Oh, good. You're here," a voice said. Jayden couldn't help but laugh; he was now face to face with the good Rita again. Five minutes ago, Rita wanted to make him disappear, now she was breathing a sigh of relief that he'd survived. Jayden knew Dulcea had put her under a spell, but this was truly bizarre!

"No, I'm serious. It's not easy to survive on that island. Your aunts, uncles and parents remember; it tested them to their limits before they survived. I was there and tested them hard, I would know," Mystic Mother said.

"Seriously though, that Deker and Robtish illusion, that was a layup, Rita," Jayden said, making a face. "I wasn't lying when I said that. That was way too easy."

"I know, but remember, villains aren't always the smartest entity out there. We've done really dumb things!" Rita said, laughing as she did so.

"In all seriousness though, I'm really proud of you. I'm more convinced than ever that you'll be as great as your parents were, if not better. You still have a ways to go, but that was a great step for you to take," Rita said.

"Thanks, and I apologize for my big mouth," Jayden said. "I really shouldn't have run my mouth so much out there. Believe it or not, behind that big game I talk, I have fears too, as you saw."

"We all do, Jayden, we all do. Until I got re-acquainted with your father five years ago, I feared he'd hate me. As it turned out, we're pretty close friends now," Rita said.

"The lavish compliments really mean a lot, but shouldn't I get going?" Jayden said.

"Nah, take a load off for a bit. You'll need all the strength you can get going to the next part of your test. Remember, you'll have to watch everything and do nothing about it," Rita said. "It's going to take a bit for Flammia to get what she wants."

Jayden nodded numbly; this certainly wasn't going to be an easy thing. His parents, together and apart, had a star-crossed history and he was going to be watching a lot of it. And he'd have to accept it for what it was, and hope for a better future.

 **August 29, 2012**

After what amounted to an overnight stay in Rita's magical home, the "pit stop" had served its purpose well. Jayden was able to re-energize himself, get himself fed, and be mentally read for the challenge ahead.

"Remember, this quest is not going to be for the faint of heart. It's going to have things that will break your heart, so be ready," Rita said.

Jayden nodded his assent. He looked at the two other occupants that stood before him, Minerva, Rita's blood sister from Eltar, and Finster, whose destruction had also been reversed when Thrax had been defeated.

The three had really rolled out the red carpet for him, Rita and Minerva had given him everything he wanted, and Finster had tended to whatever scrapes or cuts Jayden may have had, though he was in perfect condition.

"Thank you for giving me shelter for a night. This hit the spot," Jayden said. "I'm ready."

"Minerva, open the portal," Rita said.

Instantly a glowing invisaportal appeared before Jayden.

"Good luck young Phoenix, it was wonderful to meet you," Minerva said.

"You are just like your parents, cocky, but class acts," Finster said.

"I know you'll give em hell," Rita said. "Go get em."

With the goodbyes having been issued, Jayden stepped towards the portal and went through, the portal closing behind him.

After falling through time and space (again), he was in California again...but not the California he knew.

He'd landed in a very spacious park, where various people of all ages were picnicking, playing, doing things you would normally expect on a late summer/early fall Saturday afternoon.

Presently, he looked for a newspaper, and as if someone was smiling on him, found the front page of the local paper lying on the ground; someone had apparently dropped it.

This was the local Angel Grove paper, and the date that was on the paper was not lost on him.

September 18, 1993.

1993, he thought.

The year it all started. Now he at least knew where he was.

Looking to his Phoenix again for guidance, he wondered mentally where he should head off to. After a few directives from his spirit animal, he turned and headed to his right. About 10 minutes after that, he came upon a building Tommy had talked to him about shortly after he'd moved into Reefside.

The Youth Center. He saw people bustling in and out, and supposed that this was the place to be.

He headed inside, and saw there was a competition taking place. Two boys, matching wits with each other, pretty much dead even in what they did.

He soon fixed his eyes on a group of four watching the two men fight. In particular, the pink one. She was petite, well built, and he supposed, crazy athletic.

It was at that very moment he noticed how much the pink one was watching the kid in green, and a realization struck him. Could it be possible?

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" an Asian girl in yellow said to the pink one. That was Trini for sure, so that had to mean...

It then hit him like a ton of bricks. This was where the seeds of the attraction between his mother and his father all started. The one in pink HAD to be his mother...his TRUE mother. And he barely could stifle a laugh looking at his father in that freakish ponytail.

Before he could say anything, the scene changed again. Once again, he looked for another newspaper to know where he was. As if on cue, he found a newsstand. There was a building in the distance, and it wasn't hard to figure out what it read: Angel Grove High School.

Before heading into the building, he looked at the date of the paper: September 20, 1993. Just two days later.

With a little tip from his spirit animal, he headed for the doors, walked in, turned right, then turned a second right. He suddenly skidded to a stop as he saw the scene unfolding in front of him.

Bulk and Skull, the resident bullies, trying to intimidate the girl in pink from Saturday. His mother.

He actually recognized Bulk, although this Bulk was worse than the Bulk today; Bulk and his nephew Spike lived in Panorama City and he sometimes saw them around town.

Then, it happened. His father, in his younger self, telling Bulk and Skull to back off. Which they did. They didn't want to mess with Tommy and they knew it.

As he watched closely, he could feel the attraction between the two. It was palpable. And the exchange was...really awkward, ending with the hopes of the two meeting at the Youth Center.

But then, the scene changed, and things were about to get ugly.

The scene was Angel Grove again, and things could change a lot in a week. He was right outside the Youth Center again, and saw the paper.

September 25, 1993, and there had to have been a huge battle recently.

The Power Rangers were front page news.

And as he walked in the door, he could feel the tension already. You could cut it with a knife.

The Rangers and their Zords being beat (apparently it had happened the day before) he could tell had seriously shook up the town.

Presently, his eyes were drawn to the workout machines, where his father in his younger form was working out. But this...wasn't exactly his father. No, there was a darker edge to him. But he reminded himself he had to stay back, he couldn't do anything about it, only watch.

Presently, he saw his mother confront his father. It was a dangerous, dangerous situation.

"Tommy...I know, I know you're the Green Ranger," Jayden heard Kimberly hiss.

"Well then Pink Ranger," Jayden didn't miss that Tommy didn't reference Kimberly by name, "you should also know that the Power Rangers will soon be destroyed."

The confrontation continued for a few moments, and ended with his father getting the last word, "You...have been warned."

The last thought Jayden had before the scenes switched again was how did Rita not give Tommy the orders to choke Kimberly out right there?

The next scene landed him in some kind of a quarry. His father, still evil, and Uncle Jason, battling it out. It was still amazing how little difference there was between them.

The way Tommy was freed was interesting too; Jason basically hit a lucky shot on Tommy which allowed him an opening to destroy the Sword of Darkness and free his father.

He also learned something else; his father had been reluctant to join the team at first. Now, he got a little bit better idea of what his aunts and uncles talked about when they referenced the massive Oliver Guilt Complex. The specter of the spell Rita had him under was hard to shake; it was amazing that his dad had buried the hatchet in the first place.

Little did he know, as soon as he got through this, there would be some Green in his future at the end of the road also.

As the scenes continued to change, he saw some very cute, adorable scenes; they included his father rebuilding his mother's float after Putties had destroyed it, Kimberly getting trapped in a jar on her "worst day ever" only for Tommy to help free her in the nick of time, his father losing his powers the first time which was heartbreaking, only to finally stop dancing around his mother and ask her to the school dance.

He saw his father get his Green powers back on a limited basis only to lose them again for good when Zedd arrived; the way it happened little by little was heartbreaking. He was touched, though, after the fight against Guitardo when Kimberly had sung her song for Tommy as he was about to lose his powers.

The surprising return of his father as the White Ranger, however, kicked off what was, as Jayden would see, the pinnacle of his mother and father's relationship. What made him chuckle all the more was that his mother fainted when she found out Tommy was the White Ranger.

In and around it were the departures of Jason, Zack and Trini and the inclusion of Rocky, Adam and Aisha to the "family" so to speak. The Ninjetti team, as it were. Yet the bond remained strong as the Rangers easily fended off Rita, then Zedd's attacks.

That was when things started to get really hairy and get really serious.

Before long, he was back on Phaedos...though he really wasn't. He could guess this was about a year or two after the first scene he saw, so this he guessed was somewhere in 1994 or 1995. He could sense there was great significance here. He was right, as he watched the scene play out carefully. Here, Dulcea was checking Kimberly and Tommy over carefully.

"There is no question about it, young Crane," Dulcea said. "This is a momentous occasion. You are pregnant."

"My gosh...pregnant, how long?" Kimberly said.

"I would say approximately five weeks along," Dulcea said. "It is a good thing I caught it early. You should be proud. Your child will one day have immense power just like the both of you."

Jayden simply watched in awe...he knew Dulcea was talking about him.

From there, Jayden witnessed the Rangers, including himself before he was even born, rescuing Zordon from certain death and Ivan Ooze's power.

The scene then changed again, and the one that replaced it this time was one that caused him mixed reactions. He was in a medical room this time, and understood well the significance. In this scene it was Kimberly, Tommy and a specialist from Eltar who had been brought in to handle the birth. He was awed at how much his parents enjoyed his coming into this world, and more than ever, truly believed he was part of their family, both immediate and extended.

He also saw the moment Tommy and Kim put him up for adoption, which fulfilled the prophecy that talked about him. It had been unfortunate, but he truly believed more than ever now that the right thing had been done. When he got done with this, he thought, that whole deal wasn't going to be an issue any longer.

From there, things got very dark, as he witnessed Katherine, his future godmother, steal Kimberly's power coin while under Rita's power. This began the heartbreaking end of his mother as a Ranger, which also included a fight between Lord Zedd and Tommy, her fall off the beam which put her in the hospital, and her subsequent chasing of her gymnastics dream in Florida.

Jayden could see that had turned out to be a disaster from the start, as he watched in person the girls she was competing with heckle and tease her nonstop, all in the hopes of securing a spot to compete in Pan-Globals.

He knew he couldn't do anything about it, but that hurt. Those girls obviously didn't care about family, just fame, sponsorships and money.

He also found out, with surprise, that his mother's letter to his father wasn't a lie. She had met someone else, but that someone else had at least kept her sane while his father and the rest of the Zeo Rangers were fighting the Machine Empire.

He could tell she felt that letter was necessary at the time too...she felt at the time it was best for her to sever ties with all the Rangers just so he could be protected. She was going to do everything to protect him until he was ready. Tears welled in his eyes as he saw the event unfold; even in her darkest hours she continued to keep him protected.

The scene then shifted again, to a movie theater. It seemed innocent enough but the second he heard a gunshot, he knew trouble had struck. That turned out to be true, Alex, Kimberly's second boyfriend, was dead.

Jayden suspected it was done by someone who was on the verge of being cut from Pan-Globals, and if it was true, he could only hope that the person who did this ended up in jail where this person belonged.

The scene then changed again. This time he was in a temple which contained a massive pit of fire in the center, and Kimberly and Jason hanging from some ropes. He recognized the main villain who was behind this immediately; the pirate Queen Divatox was directing orders.

 **'Pay close attention, Jayden,'** his spirit animal told him. **'This is where your mother sacrificed her freedom for your sake.'**

He watched hopelessly; even though Tommy and the rest of the Turbos tried to save Kimberly and Jason, they were too late. They got Jason back, but Kimberly was obviously like a ship without direction thanks in part to what happened in Florida and was in no shape to fight Maligore. In a way, those scumballs were the biggest reason why all the Rangers would have to clean this mess up.

 **'She could have fought his magic then, but she didn't want to risk Maligore winning and then coming after you,'** his spirit animal said. **'If you get through this and claim your powers, she can fight then. She'll have nothing to lose at that point.'**

He also witnessed his two year old self crying when that happened, and he shed a tear now too.

Unfortunately, the price the universe paid was grim.

He witnessed his mother's evil half being taken in and mentored by Scorpina, then witnessed Kim (good and evil half) save Scorpina's child at the Countdown just as she'd potentially saved him a year earlier. He knew that was the last thing his mother wanted to do, but Scorpina had given her shelter after Maligore's magic had corrupted her.

The next scenes were truly hard to watch; he witnessed the building of Flammia's army and her subsequent conquests. What struck him was the relative ease that she had conquering these planets. Even when she'd had to face a whole team of Rangers on Mirinoi, she'd conquered that planet easily, like it wasn't even there. Powerful Rangers and allies had run in fright from her army.

It was sad to see what had happened to a once peaceful universe. Even with his powers, if he got them, he was going to have his work cut out.

The scenes then shifted again, thankfully, to something more light hearted; he saw the marriage of his godparents and the birth of their two children, witnessed the Reds destroying Serpentera (and of course it was Cole, pre-Deker, who did it), saw his father get his PH.D and take a teaching job at Reefside High which he obviously still held, saw his father bury the hatchet with Rita and Zedd and apologize to Nick, the Mystic Phoenix (which he thought wasn't necessary).

And then saw the four separate New Year's Eve gatherings which the Rangers had celebrated in Angel Grove...to celebrate HIM and the hope he would be truly united with them one day.

The very last image he saw was very familiar to him; it was the final fight with Deker. He hadn't felt it before because obviously that was well before his powers were like they were now, but just being there he could feel the spirits feeding his tortured body energy that he otherwise wouldn't have had.

Truly, they were a family and that was all Jayden could ask for.

When that scene faded out, Jayden found himself standing in a massive temple, surrounded by a ring of fire. The funny thing was, even though this was his first time in this place, it felt like home.

He was in his type of environs, his element.

And up ahead he saw it; the Phoenix morpher which had never been claimed. And he was just steps away from it. Yet, he knew it wasn't that easy.

 **'You're waiting for something aren't you?'** his spirit animal asked him.

"It can't be that easy," Jayden said. "Surely, there must be one more test waiting for me."

"How perceptive of you," a familiar, haunting voice said.

The voice sounded like his father, but it had a much darker, evil tone, and presently he found out why.

A flash of green lit up the temple, and when it dissipated, Jayden was face to face with a tough customer indeed.

He was a Ranger, but he was not just any Ranger.

He was the Evil Green Ranger.

"Welcme to the place where you will either take your destiny...or perish forever," Green Ranger said. "To put it in layman's terms, your test...is me. You must defeat me to reach that morpher over there."

"No rules," the Green Ranger said. "Anything goes."

Jayden nodded in understanding. This was going to be a tough fight indeed.

"Phoenix Fire Sword," Jayden said. "Your move, Greenie."

"Just like you goody-goods, always letting us have the first move," Green Ranger sneered. "Sword of Darkness."

Before Jayden knew it, Green Ranger was charging at him, prepared to impale him with the deadly sword his father had wielded when he was evil. On instinct, Jayden ducked out of the way and quickly parried the attack with his sword.

The problem Jayden was having though was that even though he wasn't afraid of the specter of the Green Ranger like his father was, the Green Ranger was more experienced than he was, even though he'd been a Ranger for over a year. Every time Jayden made a mistake, the Green Ranger made him pay for it and hit every opening Jayden provided him.

After about the fifth time, Jayden landed flat on his back, hard. He was tired from having to go through this quest, and the Green Ranger was hardly weakening.

"Why don't you just give up," Green Ranger taunted. "You're not as good as me. No one would think any less of you if you just went home right now."

"Never," Jayden grunted as he forced himself back to his feet. "If I'm not successful here, there won't be a home to go back to."

Before Green Ranger knew it, a massive fireball was coming his way. It slammed into him hard, sending him flying back into the wall in pain. He didn't have any time to rest either, as Jayden pulled him against the wall the second he got back to his feet.

Jayden then channeled the fire that was inside of him, and before the Green Ranger knew what hit him, he was screaming in pain. His left leg was literally on fire!

Jayden now had the upper hand and he knew it; he continually struck the Green Ranger with his Phoenix Fire Sword as the Green Ranger was a sitting duck, hampered by Jayden's fire attack. One last massive blow shattered the Green Ranger's helmet to pieces, revealing a pony-tailed, evil version of his father.

"Now for the coup de grace. Phoenix Fire Cannon!" Jayden called out, revealing a massive crimson cannon which had been granted him on his first day of training. He briefly recalled the day he learned about this weapon.

 **Flashback**

 **Jayden hit the ground hard. Tori was working him over good, and he knew it.**

 **She could see he was getting frustrated, so she decided to work with him in a positive way, but not without truth of course.**

 **She pulled him into a hug, knowing he could use some support.**

 **"It's OK, don't beat yourself up," she said. "Your first day doesn't define you. What you do over the next several months will. Besides, you don't even know half the weapons you're going to use yet."**

 **"Uh, Dulcea already talked to me about the Zords I'll control," Jayden said.**

 **"No, I mean the actual weapons you'll use in battle. Like the Phoenix Fire Cannon."**

 **"How powerful are we talking about here?" Jayden said.**

 **"Very powerful," Billy Cranston said as he joined Tori and Jayden on the plateau and showed Jayden a visual of what it looked like. It was massive and just looked powerful. "This weapon alone is as powerful as weapons like the original Power Blaster, the Zeo Cannon, the Turbo Ram Cannon, and the Z-Rex Blaster from your father's Dino Thunder team."**

 **"I would advise you though, it's not to be used frequently and you'll have to really work to learn how to use it," Tori said. "Like the Rangers weapons combined, it's to be used only when you need an added burst of power."**

 **End Flashback**

Over time, Jayden had worked with this weapon and learned how to handle it, and was now ready to put it to good use.

Meanwhile, Green Ranger groaned. He was beat, and he knew it.

"Fire Cannon, full power," Jayden said and watched the power level grow to critical mass, and then pulled the trigger. "Fire!"

A searing fireball then erupted from the cannon and careened towards the Green Ranger, who had no time to get out of the way. He screamed in agony as the blast hit him full on. He crashed to the ground, all but beaten.

Jayden saw the Green Ranger try to push himself back to his feet, but fail. Jayden couldn't believe it; he'd actually beaten an original evil Ranger.

"Go ahead, kill me," Green Ranger ordered. "You have me beat."

"No," Jayden said. "Samurai Rangers, and more importantly, Power Rangers don't kill."

"Defeating me...is the only way you get your powers...and save your people..." Green Ranger said through choked breath.

"I've already defeated you, I don't need to kill you," Jayden said. "Besides, even though I've come all this way, it's not worth it to kill anyone to get your powers."

As soon as he uttered those words, the Green Ranger suddenly disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Jayden said, as he looked around for a potential sneak attack. But there was none coming.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and three different figures appeared before him. And he knew who they were instantly.

"Congratulations, young Jayden," Taregan said as she looked at him with approval. "Only one person can say they've made it all the way to the Phoenix morpher without perishing. You have proven yourself to be a fine, upstanding human being and more than worthy of holding these powers."

"I am most impressed," Chayton added. "I am more convinced than ever that you will save your people, if not your family."

"I am very proud of you, my protege," the massive, majestic Phoenix said. "From here on, you may refer to me as Atsila; on your planet, it's the Cherokee translation for fire. Come, claim your prize."

Through the ring of fire he went, right up to the pedestal that held his morpher. The second he touched it, he could feel the power coursing through him and the ground shaking below him.

When the power finally finished molding around him, he was dressed in a uniform much like the old Mighty Morphin Rangers had worn, only he was colored in crimson. His helmet, interestingly enough, looked exactly like his mother's old Pterodactyl themed helmet.

"Congratulations, you have now finally claimed your destiny and not a moment too soon," Atsila said. "Now, we must hurry."

"What do you mean by that," Jayden said.

"Observe for a moment," Atsila said as his spirit animal called up an image of what was some planet.

"This is Tarmac 3," Atsila said. "Watch what happens."

Jayden watched in horror as Sentinel Knight fought some of Flammia's foot soldiers. While he was thus preoccupied, one of Flammia's generals came up from behind him and pick-pocketed his own sword, Excelsior!

"That's the only way he can be killed right?" Jayden said.

"Yes, and watch what happens next," Atsila said.

A heated battle ensued sometime later between Scorpina and Sentinel Knight. The fight would have been otherwise even, except that Scorpina had her stinger AND Excelsior at the same time.

Jayden's blood suddenly ran cold. In two quick strikes it was over, thanks to a stinger attack which weakened the Knight somewhat, and a second fatal blow from Excelsior which defeated the Knight once and for all.

"That means..." Jayden said.

"Yes. She has conquered Tarmac 3, and she is on her way to Earth."

"What about the other Rangers? We can't afford a situation where there are only temporary morphs."

"Don't worry, that's another power that comes with the Phoenix morpher. When you touched that morpher, all other Rangers had their connections to the Grid restored on a permanent basis."

Jayden gawked for a moment. Truly, he had attained a power that was beyond all description.

"Then we need to get going," Jayden said, as he looked at his massive Phoenix Zord.

"If we're lucky, we can pick a few of her soldiers off as they leave Tarmac 3." Atsila pointed out.

"Then let's go," Jayden said as he got in his Zord and on command the Zord flew up from the temple and headed for outer space.

Dulcea watched it go, and muttered, "Good luck young Phoenix. May the Power protect you."

 **August 30, 2012**

 **Panorama City, CA**

They'd all felt it one day earlier.

Somehow or another, Mike, Emily, Mia, and Kevin had felt their connections to the Morphin Grid restored. And it wasn't on some just temporary basis either.

No, this was permanent and that could only mean one thing.

The world was in danger once again.

By what, they knew not, but they knew they had to come back and do it all over again.

"What do you think's going on?" Kevin said. "I'm only back from London a short time and we have to save the world again?"

"Looks like it," Mia said.

Suddenly, much like the first time, they saw two horses ride in before them. Only this time, it wasn't Jayden riding, but Lauren and Antonio separately.

"Lauren," Emily said. "How are you two? How was the trip?"

"It was great," Lauren said. "I'm not as into fishing as he is, but I'd recommend a trip like that one. It was an amazing time. How's Serena?"

"Better, but still working on being 100 percent."

"We saw you on TV, Kevin," Lauren said. "You did great and we were proud to see you do that."

"Thanks, guys," Kevin said. "It was the opportunity of a lifetime."

Mia then asked the question that was on all their minds. Of course it had to be Mia to ask it.

"Where's Jayden?"

"He is...busy," Lauren said, choosing not to divulge exactly where he was yet. "He'll be with us soon. In the meantime, I'm going to ask you to take the same vow you gave him when the battle with Xandred began. The Earth is in danger again. I can't ask you to fight again, but if you do, know that you're in it until we are victorious, or the Earth is taken over."

"We're all in it together," Kevin said. "The Olympics were great, but I'd take this any day of the week and twice on Sunday."

"My brother is in the military fighting for our freedoms. You never have to ask me to protect the Earth, if it means protecting my brother and our freedoms, I'm in," Mike said.

"For Jayden, I shall fight," Mia said. "Our lives together are at stake and I will do what I can to ensure our future."

"This is for Serena, again," Emily said. "We're all in."

"Rangers together..."

"Samurai forever."

 **Angel Grove, CA**

 **Same Time**

The second they'd all felt that jolt in power and the Sentinel Knight's death, most of the group of Zordon's original Rangers knew where to head. Key word, most.

It was a familiar spot for them, where they'd shared a lot of great memories when not in uniform.

One by one, they all came. Tommy, of course, from Reefside, but also Zack and his wife Angela, Jason and Katherine Scott, Billy Cranston, who'd booked it home from Aquitar, Trini Kwan, Adam and Tanya from Los Angeles, and Rocky and Aisha from Rocky's cooking school in LA. He'd just barely had time to finish his work that day before he and Aisha had to book it back to Angel Grove.

The gang had mixed emotions that day; they'd received the news that the Sentinel Knight had died, which would allow for Flammia's invasion. It hit Adam particularly hard, as he knew the Knight well.

But they also felt, through the jolt of power that had gone through them, that their powers had returned. Not just limited either; this was permanent. In addition, there had been some additional Ninjetti powers that had been unlocked; no doubt, those had been awakened with the claim of the Phoenix morpher by Jayden.

Which simply meant that Jayden had been successful in his quest. They had a chance.

The funny thing about this scene was, where there was a Power Chamber and even a pile of rubble once, now there was nothing. Not even a scrap of rubble. Yet, they could still feel the magic in the air.

"We may not be the team we once were, but today, we know what we're fighting for," Jason said.

"The reunification of a family and the safety of our world," Kat added.

That's when, one by one, they all disappeared. They all felt themselves falling through the ground, until they fell on their rumps.

The surrounding looked somewhat familiar, and yet, it was completely different.

There was a viewing globe, and various screens around the room, and the old familiar tube at the end of the room on the wall which remained empty.

Almost as if it was as a memorial to the man who had mentored them.

"Oh, good. You've made it," a female voice said as a person who the majority of them had never seen before entered the room. Billy knew who she was though.

"Greetings, original Rangers," she said. "It is a pleasure to meet you all. Believe me I have just as much stake in this as you all do."

"Who are you?" Jason said. "We've never seen you before."

"I am a former ruler of a planet, in fact your mentor's planet. I am Rhiannon, the former ruler of Eltar."

She looked downcast as she said this, and most of the Rangers gave her sympathetic looks.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but will you let me mentor you during this war?" Rhiannon said. "Like I said, this means something to me too."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say yes," Dr. Oliver said. "Welcome to the team, Rhiannon. Know that we are ready to fight for you and your planet's freedom."

 **Same Time**

 **Hayley's Cyberspace**

 **Reefside, CA**

While this was going on, not far away, in Reefside, five young adults sat at a table, approximately the same age also aware of the circumstances. They too had felt their powers return, and they had a good feeling as to why that was. Four were the former Dino Thunder Rangers and the fifth was a new Ranger member, but was a Ranger veteran.

"You managed to get off from soccer?" Justin Stewart asked Conner McKnight. "How?"

"Well, uh it seems that some time after I started with City, City's management team was visited by Zordon himself. I guess Zordon felt, in his infinite wisdom, that City's management needed to know about my "side job."

"Basically it is in my contract that if I need to take off for Rangering, then I have the right to do so and City will cover it as an indefinite absence for family reasons."

"Lucky guy," Trent said. "It's impossible for me to leave my wife and my job in these situations. Thank God for Dad who has connections."

"How did you end up here, anyways, Justin?" Kira said.

"Well, Dr. Oliver told me to swing by his house real quick after we felt Jayden get his powers. Turns out no Ninjetti animal claimed me. So he asked me to try and take the Black Dino Morpher. Voila, it worked," Justin said.

"So you're the Black Ranger now?" Ethan said.

"Yes, and I'll mentor you, though Conner will be your leader for this mission," Justin said.

Suddenly, they felt the Earth shake briefly, then stop shaking.

"That can only mean one thing," Kira said.

"Yep, I'm almost certain that means Evil Kim is now in Earth's atmosphere," Conner said.

"Yep, take a look," Justin said as he opened his iPad and went to his Rangers only app.

The scene was the old Lunar Palace, and it was a scene of happiness for Flammia's forces.

They'd finally made it to Earth's atmosphere and acted like they just won the Super Bowl, but mixed with a touch of anger.

"Man, why are they angry at all?" Trent said.

Suddenly, the scene cut away again. Justin had received a call from Andros.

 **"That's because dear Jayden decided to send her a little message. He picked off three of her ships as they were leaving Tarmac 3. Destroyed them completely."**

"Yeah, I'm sure she's not happy and she'll take it out on us," Conner said. "That means we are going to have to be at the top of our game or we are all dead."

 **"Yep, just know that we are on standby 24/7 now. Good luck,"** Andros said as the transmission was cut.

It truly was showtime now. Kim in her evil form was back for the first time in 15 years, and was looking to claim her greatest achievement.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	12. 12: First Blood

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. As the title implies, the battle begins here, and someone will draw...first blood.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 12: First Blood

 **August 30, 2012**

 **The Former Lunar Palace**

 **Earth's Moon**

The former Palace that Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd had called home for many years hadn't been used in a while, so it had collected some dust, but that was nothing that Flammia couldn't fix. In fact, upon her arrival, she'd used her magic to fix it in no time.

Emblems of dark, dangerous flames littered the Palace floors now as Flammia sat on Lord Zedd's former throne. What was once a throne made of pure stone now glowed a deep shade of evil red.

"Up until what just happened, I may have decided to just settle in, introduce myself to those Power Pukes and systematically dismantle them," Flammia said.

Here it came, Scorpina, Nepa, Draco and Vipera thought as they listened to their Mistress' commands. The eruption that was coming wasn't going to be pretty.

They were right.

"But losing ten of my soldiers, to whatever wiped them out, that hit and run attack, no, now I'm mad!" Flammia growled. "We're going to destroy everything the Rangers hold dear in one fell swoop, and it's going to start right now."

Flammia also felt a sense of urgency. There had been an unnaturally large spike in power in the Morphin' Grid just now, and she had no doubt Rangers were gathering everywhere, preparing for a big attack.

It wasn't going to matter. She was going to stop their momentum before it could even get started. Today, she was going to bring down Zordon's legacy for good. But first, she was going to make an example out of a certain group of Rangers and destroy them too.

"Scorpina, what city held the latest team of Power Rangers?" Flammia asked.

"The latest group of Rangers, the Samurai Power Rangers, were based out of Panorama City, not too far away from other Power Ranger-based cities," Scorpina said.

"We're going to hit there too," Flammia said. "I want to send a message to Dr. Oliver's younger team and his friends written in that Samurai team's blood."

"Scorpina, take Draco and a battalion of Flamers and Tengas and attack Panorama City," Flammia said.

"You want me to wipe out the Samurai team. To make an example out of them," Scorpina said.

"Yes. Now go," Flammia ordered. Scorpina grunted a bit, but nodded and left. Whatever her Mistress wished, she'd do. But she wanted to fight those original Rangers more than anything in the world.

"We're also going to hit other Ranger-based cities too. Including Angel Grove, Reefside, Turtle Cove and others," Flammia said as she continued to bark out her orders. This was going to be a full scale invasion on day 1...

Her mood turned even more sour when she heard that disgustingly sweet voice again. The Crane, or what was left of Kimberly, had been unusually talkative and snappy the last few weeks and today was no exception.

 **'You can try all you want, sweetheart, but rest assured, you've already lost. You've had an ass whipping coming your way for 15 years and now you're going to find out what reality tastes like.'**

Flammia's head hurt as she rushed out of the room. The Crane was unusually more powerful these days and was more feisty than before and she had no idea why.

"And who's going to stop me, YOUR former friends? Be quiet you insignificant worm! They couldn't even hope to face this!"

 **'Oh, rest assured, MY friends have their powers back on a permanent basis. And they've got help that's on the way. That little hit and run attack a while ago, that's just a prelude to what's in store for you.'**

"Why don't you just be quiet you parasite? If you keep talking I might just shut you up for good and kill your soul once and for all!"

 **'Understand this, you might take me down, but if I go down, you go with me. I don't have anything left to lose at this point. It's you that has everything to lose.'**

"Just what in the name of Maligore could stop THIS force? The force YOU helped create?"

 **'Understand this, I didn't help create this because I wanted to be evil. No, I had an ulterior motive for everything I did, even if it went against everything I stood for. Now, you're going to come face to face with the one that's going to bring you down. I can't wait.'**

Flammia ran screaming through the palace, head hurting all the way. Inside, what remained of Kimberly smiled. She'd produced the desired effect.

She may not be what she once was, but that didn't mean she couldn't still cause trouble, even if she was condemned to eternal damnation.

 **'Come on, Kiddo,'** she silently prayed as she knew Jayden was coming back to Earth...she could feel it. **'Get home before anyone gets hurt...'**

 **3:45 P.M. local time**

 **Panorama City, CA**

With all the reunion greetings and hellos exchanged, Lauren and the rest of the Samurai Power Rangers prepared to head to the Shiba House for what they felt (and Lauren knew) would be a long-drawn out battle.

Before they could head that way though, they heard loud commotions and noise from nearby in downtown. This had trouble written all over it.

They stopped short when they saw what the commotion was about. What they saw was a frightening sight.

A half-human, half-scorpion female with a curved boomerang was leading a group of purple colored birds and terrorizing just getting off work, while a huge, intimidating dragon was leading a group of green and black colored footsoldier dragons.

"Hey," Lauren said, which got the attackers' attention. "Stop right there."

"Well, well, well," Scorpina sneered as they turned around and saw the six individuals standing in their way. "It's the new team. The Samurai Rangers, is it? Well, you just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Man, she's ugly," Mike said. "And cocky."

"Ugly doesn't even begin to describe Scorpina," Lauren said. The Rangers looked at Lauren in confusion, wondering how she could possibly know who Scorpina was.

Scorpina's partner Draco heard the comment, which didn't amuse him.

"We'll show you what ugly is, humans. I am Draco; prepare to fall to Lady Flammia and the Great Flame of Destruction, humans, just as every other planet under our control has!" the dragon roared, right before he spewed a torrent of fire at the six Rangers, who barely dove out of the way of the sudden attack.

By now, the coast was clear of any civilians. The distraction caused by the six humans had allowed all civilians to rush out of the area.

"Well, we'll have to do it without him, I guess," Kevin said. He wished Jayden were here; little did Kevin, Mia, Mike and Emily know Jayden was on his way. "Let's Ranger up."

"Right," Lauren said as she beckoned the Rangers to summon their Samuraizers.

"Samuraizer! Go, go Samurai!" Lauren, Mia, Kevin, Mike and Emily shouted simultaneously.

"Samurai, Gold Power!" Antonio called. Instantly, the six were transformed once more into the Samurai Power Rangers, fully ready for action.

"What? They weren't supposed to do that!" Draco roared in disbelief as he stared at the six morphed Rangers in front of them.

"It doesn't matter. They aren't as good as us, and they never were as good as us," Scorpina said, as she looked at her footsoldiers. "Attack!"

"Be careful, the Tengas and Flamers are very dangerous!" Lauren called as the Rangers prepared to defend themselves.

 **The Ranger Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

As the Rangers, now gathered as one once again and commanded by Rhiannon, prepared to go explore their new surroundings, they heard the alarms go off.

Marissa, Billy's daughter, knew from being around her dad that any sort of alarm knew she had to get to safety. Well technically she already was safe, but she knew it was best to let her father and his friends handle their business. The Rangers all looked at her retreating form and smiled; they didn't doubt one day she'd be a great Ranger like her father.

"Well, so much for the feel good," Trini said.

"Yeah, it's really bad," Rhiannon said. "Take a look by the harbor."

Before she could activate the screens though, a loud whoosing teleportation sound was heard in the room. Moments later, two bodies were dumped on the floor who looked like they had been through the wringer. They looked like they'd been battered, beaten and fried and hadn't eaten in days. And somehow, they'd found their way here.

"Trey!" Tommy exclaimed. He in particular was in terrible shape; looked too weak to even sustain one morph.

"Are we...safe?" he barely stammered out.

"Yes. You're in our new Chamber of Command," Jason said as he and Kat helped prop Trey up, while the one known as the Phantom Ranger, held up by Billy and Trini, looked a little better thanks to his Power Ruby, but they had battered and fried him too.

"How in the world did you get here? And what happened?" Tanya asked. Adam gave her a look, coaxing her to be quiet and not fire off questions a mile a minute.

"We don't know the answer to either of those questions," Phantom Ranger replied. "One minute we were sequestered in our palace, begging, asking for food and knowing nothing was coming, and then suddenly we felt a burst of power and felt ourselves teleported. And we ended up here."

"I have a theory as to what happened, but we'd need someone to ask Dulcea first," Billy said. "That someone is on his way back here and on his way to help and when he gets here, I'll tell him to ask Dulcea about that."

"In the meantime, take a look at what's happening at the Harbor," Rhiannon said, directing everyone to the viewing screens. When Billy saw what was happening, he groaned.

"Oh God," he breathed uncomfortably. "So that's why he left Aquitar."

"You know him?" Jason said.

"Kind of though we never formally met. And personally I'm glad I didn't meet him. That's Squalus, and he's very dangerous as is his band of Landsharks, called Landers for short," Billy replied. "He was the Alien Rangers second worst enemy behind Hydro Hog. No doubt Kim's evil half paid him lots of money."

"Question is, what's the purpose of sending him?" Tanya said.

"To cut off the water supply starting at Angel Grove," Billy said.

"Can we do it without the Phoenix though?" Zack asked.

"I don't know, but we have to try to do it without him for now," Jason said. "Let's Ranger up."

"Right," Tommy said. "It's Morphin Time!"

 **The Phoenix Ninjazord**

 **Somewhere out in space...**

He wasn't to Earth yet, and wasn't in a place where Flammia's soldiers could be hiding out, so that gave him some time to take a look at what was happening back home.

It wasn't good. And he had a decision to make.

Flammia hadn't wasted any time upon getting to Earth. She had launched a coordinated attack upon several different Ranger cities, including Angel Grove, Panorama City, Reefside, and Turtle Cove.

The decision he had to make was if and when he got to Earth, where was he going to go? Does he go to Angel Grove and help out his real father and his aunts and uncles and leave his team vulnerable to getting killed? Does he go to Reefside? Turtle Cove? Or does he help his teammates in Panorama City?

As if to answer his question, a visual came on the screen in front of him that made him cringe.

As soon as he saw Scorpina's ugly face, he knew things were not in a good situation. He was right.

The Samurai Power Rangers were getting tossed on their asses by not only Scorpina, but a monstrous dragon that was with her. Just the two of them were making six very powerful Rangers look like a mere JV basketball team. Even when the Rangers had used their Spinswords to call forth their weapons, it didn't make a dent.

Things didn't look great in the other locales either, but he knew that the team he'd led would need his immediate help.

 **'Thanks for the help, Atsila,'** he thought. **'Panorama City it is. Do one thing for me though please.'**

 ** _'What is it?'_**

 **'I need a protection spell around Aunt Kat. Flammia cannot go near her for any reason until I get there.'**

 ** _'A good idea. Give me a moment...there, it's done.'_**

 **'OK, then. Panorama City, here I come.'**

 ** _'You must hurry, young Phoenix. If you don't, Mia could lose her life before you get there. Scorpina may well be out to kill anyone in pink until she is able to leave your Aunt Katherine for Flammia.'_**

That thought horrified Jayden. He had his powers, but now it was a race against time. There was no time to lose!

"Phoenix Zord, full speed!" Jayden called as he set the coordinates for Panorama City and kept on trucking ahead.

He was home free until he hit the edge of Earth's atmosphere, and then he saw the problem, clear as day.

Ten of Flammia's warships, no doubt, in a straight line, blocking the way. And unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't engage them first; it was in the tradition of the rules that his father's mentor had first set before those Rangers. Never escalate a battle unless forced.

Fortunately for Jayden, villains were generally pretty dumb especially generals who served under main villains. The first two ships that saw him recklessly opened fire. Big mistake.

Jayden easily avoided the fire flung his way, then pressed a small button. Instantly, twin lasers flew from the eyes of the Phoenix Zord, obliterating the ships on contact. Four more ships, obviously angered that their comrades had fallen just now, came directly at Jayden hoping to overpower him with numbers.

Jayden laughed; it was too easy to suck them in. He then pressed a bigger button. Instantly, the mouth of the Zord opened and a torrent of fire flew from it. The fire incinerated all four of the ships, turning them to ash. Jayden caught an additional break with the attack because the backlash of the attack severely damaged two of the ships who got too close, forcing them to retreat.

Two ships left.

It sounded easy, but Jayden soon found out that these guys had wised up, so to speak. They kept avoiding contact with his most lethal attacks, kept their distance, kept opening fire on Jayden. It wasn't doing too much harm to the Zord yet, but it was annoying and Jayden didn't have time to play around with these guys.

After another round where they came behind Jayden, opened fire and hit him with a blast that rocked his cockpit, and then came back around front, Jayden relaxed just a bit. He had an idea, it was a bit reckless in itself but if it worked, he could go on and get these guys out of his hair.

The ships were on either side of him now. If his plan was going to work, he'd have to implement it now before they came around him again.

Instantly, he zoomed forward toward both ships. Jayden relaxed as when he tried to split the ships down the middle, they both came toward him, hoping to double impale his ship.

"Phoenix Zord, evasive maneuver!" Jayden called. Right before the ships could strike his ship, his Zord zoomed upward. His plan had worked; the ships were too late to keep from colliding with each other. They both struck each other and were destroyed instantly.

Jayden breathed a sigh of relief; that problem was out of his hair, but now he had to get to Panorama City immediately.

 **Downtown Panorama City, CA**

As they lay there, battered, bruised and de-morphed from the latest attack they'd suffered at the hands of the Fame of Destruction, Mia, Kevin, Emily, and Mike wondered how Lauren and Antonio seemed to know everything. At one point in the battle, they'd told the four other Rangers that they'd all wish they were facing Master Xandred again after today.

They were right. Xandred would have been a hundred times better than this.

Draco and Scorpina had outclassed, outmaneuvered the Samurai Power Rangers at every turn. They were good, but alone, these six could not hope to take on two seasoned warriors such as these two.

Even with the power of the Black Box (which Antonio had wisely kept and was now fully active) and the Auxiliary Discs, it hadn't mattered. They had been beaten, battered and fried.

And unless a miracle occurred, they were probably all going to die.

Mia gulped as she saw Scorpina heading towards her. Directly towards her.

She had no idea why Scorpina had picked her as a target, or who Scorpina was, but she suddenly wished she'd never heard of the half-scorpion female. She gasped as Draco headed towards Lauren with the same malicious look in his eyes.

"So, this is what the Pink Ranger mantle has come to," Scorpina sneered. "You couldn't even put up a fight against me if you tried."

"Why...why have you targeted me?" Mia pleaded. "I did nothing to you! I am my own person!"

"You're right, you yourself did nothing to me but past members of your legacy including my mistress humiliated me time and again years ago," Scorpina retorted. "And I'm going to take great pleasure in gutting the members of the Ranger legacy, one by one, starting with you."

"I understand your boyfriend is a former Ranger too, from my records," Scorpina said. "I bet he'd be embarrassed to ever be associated with you when I get through gutting you."

"You leave him out of this!" Mia pleaded.

"I see I struck a nerve," Scorpina smirked. "Say goodbye, pathetic Pink powerless Ranger."

At that moment, Mia thought she heard a cawing (though she swore she was hearing things) and a wave of fire flew in from out of nowhere, just missing Scorpina's right arm. Her good arm. A scowl formed on Scorpina's face, which frightened Mia all the more. Scorpina had been provoked even further now.

Now angered even more, Scorpina raised her boomerang, and Mia for sure thought that was the end of her.

Mia quickly looked over at where Lauren was lying on the ground below Draco, who was similarly preparing to gut Lauren, but with his massive foot which was covered in dragon spikes.

Mia said one last prayer that her soul would pass into the afterlife safely as she saw Scorpina lower the sword towards her.

 **The Phoenix Zord, the exact same time**

"Damn," Jayden thought as he saw his attack just miss Scorpina. What no one knew at the time, was he'd been watching the whole confrontation as he was heading rapidly towards the Rangers. He'd heard every word that Scorpina said about Mia and him, and he was pretty pissed too.

To call Mia an embarrassment to the Pink legacy was uncalled for, and, to him, a slap in the face. He was going to make Scorpina pay for that but he was gonna have to hurry now! Lauren was in no less danger also.

"Phoenix Zord, go to the Rangers new base and and wait till I call you," Jayden said as he transformed into a ball of fire and leapt out of the cockpit, just as the massive crimson bird disappeared.

With death defying speed, Jayden, as a ball of fire, careened towards Scorpina who was seconds away from gutting his girlfriend. Scorpina had been so busy with Mia that she didn't see the suicide fire dive until it was too late, and the massive fireball passed through her body, causing her to howl in pain and drop her sword.

Moments later, the same fireball passed through Draco, who had been inches away from ending his sister's life with Draco's spikes. Draco, too, screamed in pain as he crashed to the ground.

"Get away from my team, and my girlfriend, or that's just a sample of the pain I'll have in store for you," his haunting voice echoed as the massive fireball disappeared and he appeared on top of a nearby business building.

It took a moment for everyone to regain their bearings after the surprise attack. The Samurai Rangers, who had flirted with death moments ago, came to first.

"We're alive? Is everyone here?" Emily said.

"Yeah, I think so, God that was so close," Mia said. The other Rangers nodded their assent.

"Guys! Up on the building!" Kevin exclaimed as he suddenly looked upward.

It was Jayden, but he was...different than he had been last time. He'd definitely changed his wardrobe somewhere...the color of his tank top wasn't red like Lauren, but a deeper shade of Crimson.

He didn't look pleased either.

"Human, you up there!" Draco roared, before Jayden could address his team. He was angry, but he was hurting the Rangers could tell. So was Scorpina, who the Rangers noticed had much of her body singed by whatever attack Jayden had done.

"You interrupted something that doesn't involve you!" Scorpina said. "Get lost, or I'll make you get lost!"

"Oh, are you talking to me?" Jayden responded, finally turning to look at both of his opponents. "You're going to end me. I don't think so you ugly excuse for a bug. You should get yourself looked at, by the way. It looks gross."

"By the way, the name's Jayden, former Red Samurai Ranger and I'm back and badder than ever. I'm going to beat the hell out of both you two, as well as every single member of your army until your Mistress' reign of terror finally ends. I have another goal too but you'll learn about that in a few moments too."

"Ha! You, beat the two of us, that's funny. You should know, human, that we took on an entire team of Rangers and whipped their ass!" Draco roared. "Compared to them you'll just be a nice snack!"

"Enough," Jayden said simply. "It's time to show you how serious I really am."

The Rangers watched in amazement as Jayden pulled out a morpher that looked unlike any of their Samuraizers. Well, except for Lauren; she wasn't necessarily amazed but the word to describe her feelings was proud.

'Go get em, little bro,' she thought.

"And now, allow me to say, in the words of my parents, It's Morphin Time!"

Four of the Rangers suddenly looked at each other, confused. Jayden's deceased parents, to their knowledge, had never said that!

"Crimson Ranger Power!" Jayden called. Both villains and Rangers watched in shock as Jayden's new armor began molding around his body. What no one expected was that the backlash of the morph extended to the Samurai Rangers, who immediately had their morphs restored as well.

Jayden then flipped down from the building triumphantly and landed in front of Scorpina and Draco, who looked as shocked as the Samurai Rangers were. And as shocked as their Mistress was.

 **The Lunar Palace, same time**

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Flammia roared in disbelief. She of course was watching this whole thing too. All this time, the Phoenix the prophecy had talked about was NOT Nick Russell, the Red Mystic Force Ranger. No, it was that former Red Samurai Ranger who just months ago had sent Master Xandred to his hellish grave.

The dynamics had changed now, she knew. This new Ranger had never been seen before by her army, and no one in her army knew what this new warrior was capable of.

Then, the words that Jayden had just uttered came back to her.

It's Morphin Time. He said, from his very own mouth, that his parents had uttered that phrase before.

So he had to be related to Zordon's old Rangers, in a way.

Then another thought struck her. A dreadful thought.

No way.

It couldn't possibly be...But no Ranger had ever exuded this sort of power before.

Suddenly Flammia felt a familiar presence in her head. A most unwelcome one at that. To make matters worse, that presence was the happiest it had ever been in a long time.

"No," Flammia breathed.

 **'Surprise,'** the perky voice of Kimberly Ann Hart fluttered through Flammia's head. **'Meet the real Phoenix...my son Jayden. The man who's going to make the Flame of Destruction wish it never even existed.'**

 **'I'll tell you more later, but the reason I didn't fight your control before was to keep my son safe until he was ready. While you were busy with your own petty obsessions, I was making sure my son was safe from any harm that may come his way. Well, he's ready now and he's gonna whip your ass.'**

 **Your army...it doesn't stand a chance. Oh and by the way, Lady, I'm going to beat your ass some day as well. All I need is one good day.'**

"We'll see about that," Flammia growled. Flammia was in disbelief. How in the world had Kimberly kept this secret from her, all these years?

She had to admit, Kimberly was smart. There was a good chance she'd do anything to keep that child alive even if it meant terrible consequences for her. And by God, she'd done it.

That said, she still had faith in her army and would take her chances with that. The boy, even though the son of Kimberly and...no doubt...Tommy, was inexperienced and had never faced anyone like Scorpina and Draco.

"Scorpina! Draco! Destroy that interloper! NOW!"

 **Downtown Panorama City, CA**

"OK, hot shot," Scorpina sneered. "Maybe you have some nice little toys, but let me introduce you to some of my friends."

Jayden didn't even flinch as about 30 Tengas appeared in front of him.

"Jayden, be careful, they're really powerful!" Mia yelled.

"Don't worry. I'll handle them. You guys regroup!" Jayden responded, right as the Tengas came at him.

"Phoenix Fire Sword!" he called as the powerful weapon appeared in his hand.

Immediately, Jayden went to work. Two Tengas descended on him, but he wasted no time in using the sword to clip their wings, rendering them flightless. In the next breath, he decapitated both of them with a mighty swing to the head.

Angrily, about eight more Tengas descended on him, hoping to avenge their fallen comrades. But Jayden channeled the fire that was in his veins into the sword, which lit up with burning hot flames (reminiscent of the Shogun Megazord's Fire Saber). With astonishing ease, Jayden used the flames of his sword to incinerate those eight Tengas in no time.

About ten more Tengas hoped to ambush him from the sky but Jayden had an answer for that too.

"Phoenix Wings, flight mode, activate," Jayden called as he went to meet them in the sky before they could ambush him. Four Tengas got the swift decapitation treatment, and as a result, three Tengas jumped on Jayden's back and tried to knock him out of the sky as revenge, but Jayden elbowed two of them off him and kneed another one in the nether regions.

"Phoenix Missiles," Jayden called; the wings still gave him flight but moved in slightly turning into missile launchers, reminiscent of the Falconzord of yesteryear. Now he just had to maneuver the Tengas where he wanted them...

The second he got all of the six remaining airborne ones in his sights, he ordered the missiles to launch. The second the Tengas were hit, they were knocked out of the sky and unconscious.

The Samurai Rangers, minus two, stood there in awe. These were the same villains that whipped them just a few minutes ago, yet Jayden was making mincemeat out of them. Where had this come from?

Ten Tengas still remained, but that was simply a formality. Jayden used his flight capability to dive down on the Tengas, and he used the fire inside him to heat up his sword again, reducing the ten remaining Tengas to ash in no time.

"Phoenix Wings, deactivate," Jayden called as he landed in front of Scorpina and Draco, confidence oozing through his body. And he had reason to be confident. These two would be a test, but he was confident in his own abilities.

"No more Tengas to hide behind, you two," Jayden snapped. "Fight me if you dare. That was just a taste of what I'm about to do."

 **The Lunar Palace**

Flammia sat on Zedd's former throne, and watched two of her top soldiers get ready to take on the young Phoenix and she had to admit she was a little nervous now. The kid had been impressive in dispatching the Tengas and she was sure that wasn't the only thing he could do.

She was about to call her soldiers back, but that was when a Crane intervened.

 **'No, no, lady, you're not going to get out of this one,'** Kimberly thought as she prepared for a sneak attack.

Right before Flammia could activate her remote to summon her soldiers back, suddenly a beam of pink light erupted from Flammia's body, shattering the device she used. The Crane would be out for a bit after the attack, but it had done its job.

 **'Jayden, they're all yours. Go get em, kid,'** Kimberly thought before she decided to rest and regroup.

Meanwhile, Flammia was furious.

"SERPENTES!" she bellowed for her technical advisor. "GET IN HERE!"

"Yes my Queen," Serpentes, Vipera's brother, said as he hustled in, shocked as he looked at the remote. "What happened?"

"Long story short, but that pink parasite the Crane damaged my remote before I could call Scorpina and Draco back from Panroama City!" Flammia bellowed. "Please fix this! And do it quick! The Phoenix Ranger make me nervous!"

 **Downtown Panorama City, CA**

Two of Flammia's two top generals listened carefully to see if their Mistress wanted them to flight the Phoenix Ranger.

No response was forthcoming. They were on their own.

"You have a big mouth, Kid," Draco boomed. "Now we're going to shut it up."

"If anyone has a big mouth it's you two," Jayden retorted. "Now come on."

"Don't say you didn't ask for this," Draco boomed as he extended his right hand and shot several sharp spikes at Jayden from it. Jayden deflected most of them away with his sword and used his flight capability to evade the rest. Using his flight capability he then tried to barrel over first Draco, then Scorpina. Big mistake.

They both caught Jayden like he was a little child and threw him into the side of a nearby building. Jayden crashed to the ground with a loud thud. The nearby Samurai Rangers cringed. They thought about going to help Jayden, but Lauren and Antonio somehow kept them at bay.

"Ready to give up yet human?" Draco roared.

"Never," Jayden breathed as he used his sword to stand once again. "I will never surrender to the likes of you."

That said, Jayden knew he needed something to at least buy himself some time. He had to admit, Scorpina and Draco were a tough team.

"Phoenix Wings! Wind Attack!" Jayden called as his wings extended once again. Reminiscent of Peckster back in the day, he began flapping his wings, and a gust of wind began to pick up. Scorpina and Draco tried to avoid the attack but there was no way to. The force of the attack sent them careening into a nearby car and they hit the ground hard.

"Damn. Bet that hurt," Kevin said.

"I hope that car has good insurance after that," Emily added.

"Ha. Might need to call Flo now," Mia added.

"Guys, I've got an idea," Lauren said. "Come here."

Meanwhile, Scorpina and Draco got up angry but Jayden had what he needed, which was time. They charged him angrily, but this was what Jayden wanted. He just wanted to keep them busy because if things worked out right, he could have them right where he wanted them.

Draco attempted to use his power to ram right into Jayden with his body, but Jayden was too fast. He quickly ducked the attack, ending up behind Draco and before Draco could fully recover, he swept Draco's leg out from under him, sending the massive dragon crashing to the ground.

"You're good, I'll give you that," Scorpina said, with Jayden watching her warily as he knew she was preparing for an attack, "but let's see how you like a little taste of my stinger!"

"Oh, no you don't," Jayden retorted; the second Scorpina unleashed her stinger, Jayden released a fire attack from his sword. The two attacks collided and fought for control.

Immediately, Jayden leaned on his spirit animal to give the attack more power, and while Scorpina raised the intensity of her attack as well, to her shock, the power of the Phoenix easily overpowered her attack, sending both attacks slamming into her full force.

As both villains crashed to the ground, Jayden spared a quick glance at his Samurai team and smiled. They were in position; now all he had to do was wait for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to get up.

"We're going to make you pay for injuring a woman and a mother the way you have!" Draco roared as he and Scorpina stood once more.

"You, make me pay? Fat chance," Jayden said. "I've kicked your ass for the last 20 minutes or so. Besides, I think you should look at what's behind you two. Hint: I don't think you'll like it. Get em, guys."

Scorpina and Draco turned around and worry filled their faces. They had turned around right into a Samurai Ranger attack; the battle between Jayden and Draco and Scorpina had given the Samurai team more than enough time to regroup and they hadn't paid attention to the Samurai team in quite a while.

"Quintuple Slash!" Lauren, Mia, Emily, Kevin and Mike shouted simultaneously.

"And let's give it a little gold power to send it on its way," Antonio added.

The addition of Antonio's powers did indeed give the attack a boost, and the attack slammed right into the two villains, sending them flying into a nearby garbage can. Amazingly, the two villains stood once again, though they were greatly weakened by the Samurai attack and the beating Jayden had levied on them.

"What does it take to put these two down?" Emily exclaimed with exasperation.

"This. Time for the coup de grace. Phoenix Fire Cannon," Jayden called. Immediately, the massive crimson cannon appeared in Jayden's hands. "Full power."

Jayden watched the power grow to critical mass, right as the two villains staggered forward like they were hung over after being in a bar.

"Fire!" Jayden called. A massive fireball erupted from the cannon, nailing Scorpina and Draco full on. They crashed into the side of a building and did not get up.

With Scorpina and Draco apparently down for the count, Jayden then faced his teammates.

"Welcome back, little brother," Lauren said. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, welcome back," Kevin said. "But you look...different."

"I didn't know you could do any of that!" Emily said.

"Thank you for saving me," Mia said, as she embraced her boyfriend, who had indeed saved her from an awful fate.

"Thanks, I promise everything will be explained to you once we're off the battlefield," Jayden said. "Just be aware, not everything you think you know is true."

"And Mia," Jayden said as he looked in her eyes, "I love you. Forever."

 **The Lunar Palace**

Meanwhile, Flammia was livid. The day had gone from bad to worse. And it had started off great.

The attacks had gone as planned to start with. The Rangers involved in every separate battle were getting handled. But ever since that upstart brat kid of Tommy and Kim had arrived, the tide had switched.

Not just in Panroama City, where she couldn't call back even Scorpina and Draco because her device was broken, but in every other city as well, the influence of the nearby Phoenix had switched the tide in those locales as well; in every location the Rangers held the advantage.

It was time to change the tides again.

"You think you've won, Crimson Ranger? Think again!" Flammia screeched as fire formed on her fingertips.

"Fire of the Flame of Destruction, make my monsters GROW!" Flammia screamed as the fire hurtled towards Earth.

 **Downtown Panorama City, CA**

Before Jayden could say or do anything more with Mia, a loud roar was heard. Two of them.

"Oh no!" Mike said. "Guys, look!"

Not only were Scorpina and Draco not dead, they were now skyscraper huge. Not only that, Scorpina was no longer the beautiful half scorpion half human, but was the gigantic scorpion monster that had attacked Angel Grove on many occasions.

"How do you like us now, Rangers?" Draco roared.

"When this battle is over, your blood will be at my feet, Crimson Ranger!" Scorpina screeched.

"We need to call the Zords!" Mia said.

"No, Mia. You guys need to go back to the Shiba House, with Lauren and Antonio," Jayden said. "You'll understand what's going on once you get back there. Mentor is standing by. Trust me, I'll be back as soon as I am able."

"We can't leave you! This is insane!" Kevin said.

"No, Kevin. You guys need to rest. I can handle these two. I'll get them away from here and the city will be safe. Go, I'll be fine," Jayden said.

"You better, little bro," Lauren said as she looked at him hard.

"Don't worry. You know I can take care of myself," Jayden said.

"Symbol power, teleport," Lauren said; the ensuing whoosh whisked all six Rangers away from the pr!"mises.

Not five seconds after the Rangers were whisked away, Jayden heard a chime on his communicator.

"Yeah, Jayden here," he said.

"Hey, man, we're getting a tough fight over here by Vipera and Squalus and a couple of their generals and we've gotta call the Zords. We could use some help!" Jason called.

"I'll be there in a second as soon as I get Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum out of here," Jayden said. "I have a plan. I'll be there in a sec."

Jayden cut the communication, barely diving out of the way as Draco's massive foot just missed him.

"OK, you want to play with fire, fine," Jayden said. "Let's see how you like the Power of Thunder. Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!"

"WHAT?" Scorpina, Draco and Flammia and what was left of Kimberly screeched all at once.

Jayden's hail was answered a few seconds later by the screech of a pink firebird that no one thought would ever be seen again.

Not five seconds after he got inside the cockpit, Scorpina and Draco opened fire on him, but he was able to steady the Zord to evade most of the attack. The Zord took minimal damage but still maintained its flight.

"So you want to play hardball, huh? OK," Jayden said.

The Firebird then released a cyclone attack reminiscent of what it did to Lipsyncher many years ago, only this time, two powerful monsters were caught in the vortex and were sent flying about 40 feet, nearly crashing into a building.

"OK, you two, it's time to take a little trip," Jayden said as the bird suddenly dove down on both monsters, grabbing them both and then flying away into the air, with both monsters screeching all the way.

Several times on the way, Draco tried to impale the Firebird Zord with his tail, but the Zord had such a grip on him and Scorpina both, that he was in a terribly awkward position and couldn't really mount an attack.

"Put us down, Ranger scum!" Scorpina screeched as the Firebird, Jayden could see, was now over Angel Grove and was close to the battle site. As Jason said, the Rangers could indeed use some help. The newest Ninja Megazords, the one captained by Jason, had taken a big time beating.

"OK, then, you asked for it," Jayden said as he suddenly dropped both monsters from 40 feet in the air, sending them crash landing literally into Squalus and Vipera. The collision stunned the villains momentarily giving the Rangers time to regroup.

"Jayden! Welcome back, man," Tommy said. "I guess you had to deal with those two clowns."

"Yeah, and I have to admit, they're tough. Real tough," Jayden said. "Get ready to form the Ninja Mega Falconzord in a sec. You'll see."

"Firebird Zord, recall. Phoenix Zord, activate," Jayden said as he teleported out of the Firebird and it disappeared. Not ten seconds later, the massive Phoenix Zord returned, and Jayden teleported right into the cockpit.

"Ninja Mega Falconzord transformation sequence," Jayden called as the Zords began their transformation. The only difference between this formation of the Rangers main Megazord and the older one was that the Phoenix went where the Crane Zord normally would have.

"Woo hoo, did it," Jayden said as he, Tommy, Billy, Aisha, Rocky and Adam converged in the main cockpit. "Now let's pick a monster and take em out."

"So you're the Crimson Ranger who destroyed some of our brothers leaving Tarmac 3," Squalus snarled. "For that, Crimson Ranger, you will eternally pay!"

"Yeah, you talk too much," Jayden said as both Megazords prepared to engage the four monsters. "Let's add one more piece to the puzzle. Ninjor, I summon you!"

Sure enough, moments later, Ninjor flew down from his cloud, landing in between the two Megazords.

"Man, it feels good to be back!" Ninjor said. "I'm here and I'm ready to make sure these monsters take a beating!"

"Glad to hear it, Blue," Jayden said, using his coined nickname for Ninjor. "Let's take these guys out."

The ensuing melee was swift and decisive. The four villains were powerful, but the Rangers persistence and the additional strength provided them by the Phoenix had worn them down quite a bit. Jayden still wasn't quite sure why Flammia hadn't called her troops back, but he'd take the result.

"We've got them where we want them," Kat said.

"Right," Jayden said. "Ninjor you're up!"

With that, Ninjor pushed both Zords aside and raised his fists to the sky.

"Feel the fury of the power of NINJA!" Ninjor shouted, transforming into his second form.

"Taste this fire power," he said in his sing-song voice as he released a powerful orange beam which slammed into Scorpina and Vipera, stunning them both.

"Ninja Mega-Falconzord, double punch," Tommy called as the Megazord's fists charged up with energy. The attack slammed into Draco, sending him flying across the street in pain.

"Let me handle Squalus, I can destroy him," Jayden said to Billy. "Your planet will be very happy."

"Take him out," Billy said, giving his nephew a slap on the back.

"Phoenix Zord, detach," Jayden said as that part of the Megazord detached briefly and screamed towards Squalus, who subsequently decided to dive underground and use its land shark attack on both sets of Zords.

"Coward," Jayden muttered. "Phoenix Zord missiles, launch at the shark fin."

The rockets ignited and the attack nailed Squalus in his land shark form, surrounding him in a shower of sparks as he was violently thrust out of the ground by the attack.

"You'll pay for that!" Squalus roared. "I will not be beaten by a child!"

"Oh yes you will be. You'll be dead in a few minutes," Jayden retorted. "Phoenix Zord Fire Blast!"

Instantly the mouth of the Zord opened, spewing a torrent of fire at the shark monster who had threatened Aquitar for many years. He tried to withstand the attack, but the fire of the Phoenix completely consumed him. He screamed in pain.

"This...CAN'T...BE...HAPPENING!"

"Oh it's happening. You're done," Jayden said as he ordered the Ninja Mega-Falconzord to reform.

With howls of agony, Squalus was consumed until he was nothing but ash.

"Wow!" Rocky exclaimed. "That was unbelievable!"

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder crashed across the sky. Jayden groaned. He knew it could only mean one thing.

Moments later, Flammia in all her glory appeared as a ghostly face in the sky.

"It's her!" Aisha said.

"Monsters, retreat! All of you! Now! We must regroup!" Flammia roared. "And Crimson Ranger son of the Falcon and Crane, don't think I will ever forget what you did to Squalus! When I'm through with you, you'll wish you'd never heard of me!"

Flammia's face disappeared, but her presence certainly had an affect on the Rangers that had seen it. The villains had heard it too and had their own shock. The Crimson Ranger was Tommy and Kimberly's son?

"This isn't over Rangers," Scorpina promised. "And Crimson Ranger, you may have won today, but know that my Mistress will not surrender so easily...not even to the mighty Phoenix."

With that, the three remaining villains and subsequently the others that had attacked in other locales disappeared.

"Yeah, talk all you want. I drew first blood," Jayden said. "And it's only the beginning."

 **The Shiba House**

 **5:45 p.m local time**

"God, how does he continue to do it?" Kevin said as the Rangers watched the battle that had just taken place on their Samuraizers. "He's like a pro now and we're like minor leaguers! I've never seen anyone do the things Jayden is doing today!"

"So yeah, about that," Lauren said as she, Ji and Antonio looked at each other. "Jayden's story is...not what you think it is. And up until after we beat Xandred wasn't even what he thought it was either."

"You better tell us everything. The whole truth. You owe it to us," Emily said.

"The first thing you need to know is that Jayden, while he was a great Samurai Ranger, is not a Shiba. He belongs to another family of power. In fact maybe the most powerful duo as far as Rangers go."

"What do you mean?" Mike said as Lauren began to explain the story...

 **The Lunar Palace**

On what was supposed to be a day of celebration, a coronation of the greatest dynasty of evil to ever grace the universe, had ended very much unlike what anyone in the Palace anticipated.

All over, there was shocked, uncomfortable silence. The Phoenix Ranger had successfully interrupted their plans. Not only that, they had found a shocking revelation.

The one that had spoiled their attacks was Tommy and Kimberly's son.

Even when you tried to kill them both, their legacy just wouldn't seem to die already.

It was uncomfortable in the place, Scorpina thought. Sooner or later, someone was going to go off the deep end. Sure enough...

"How...could...this...POSSIBLY...HAPPEN?" Flammia roared at every one of her generals. "HOW CAN WE LOSE WITH ALL THIS?"

"It's one battle, he's inexperienced," Stilio said. "He's never seen the full power we possess."

"Inexperienced? You IDIOT!" Flammia roared. "Tell that to Master Xandred...oh wait, he's DEAD!"

"Not only that, because of Squalus destruction, the Crane spirit got a spike in power! Do you realize that pathetic parasite Kimberly Hart still lives, that she's just been in hiding?" Flammia ranted. "It's because of her damaging my device that Squalus got destroyed!"

"Every time one of you gets destroyed, she grows stronger! She can still take back what is hers someday, all because of that Crimson fledgling!" Flammia roared. "I want him DESTROYED!"

With that, she left the room, still so mad that the generals in the room were lucky they hadn't been harmed yet.

Scorpina in particular sat down in a corner and began to meditate. For her, as Flammia's top confidant, there were many questions that needed to be answered...

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	13. 13: Reflections, Spectacular 17th

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter includes the aftermath of the first battle. And, somebody celebrates a 17th birthday, which will be detailed more in the next chapter.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 13: Reflections, Spectacular 17th

 **August 30, 2012**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command, early evening**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

20 minutes after Round One against Flammia and her massive army, and the building was in complete bedlam.

The good kind of bedlam, that is. The celebratory mood was off the charts.

The second he landed back in the new Ranger chamber of command, Jayden was mobbed in a sea of congratulations. The first ones to congratulate him and thank him were the newer teams. Of those teams, the Overdrives felt the most grateful.

Just mere days ago, their powerful ally the Sentinel Knight had died on his home world of Tarmac 3. They weren't there for Jayden's fight with Scorpina and Draco because they had to deal with their own invasion in San Angeles, but they felt themselves getting stronger as the fight went on.

They also felt Jayden had delivered them some sort of justice in a way too; Scorpina had been the one to kill the Sentinel Knight which had devastated the team. To them, Scorpina's defeat was a tiny bit of payback, and Andrew Hartford was especially grateful.

"From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of my team, thank you so much," Mr. Hartford said as he hugged Jayden tightly. "It's been a dark few days in our family. That win provided us some hope that maybe the Knight's death will not go in vain."

"His death will not go in vain," Jayden said. "I and my family, all of these guys, we're going to avenge every wrong that Flammia's army has done. Is your team OK?"

"They got battered and beat pretty good at first but I think when you arrived they caught their second wind," Mr. Hartford said. "With some rest they should be OK."

The early to mid 2000s teams were the teams to greet him next. The first of those was the Dino Thunder team, the team his father mentored nearly 10 years ago.

"You guys OK?" Jayden said.

"Yeah, with some rest we'll be fine. Those guys are incredibly strong though. That Finch guy that led their army, he tossed us on our asses," Conner said.

"Thanks to you though, we're OK," Kira added.

"Yeah I get it. Draco and Scorpina threw me into a building. Hurt like crazy," Jayden said. "They are incredibly strong, but it's going to take a lot to break all of us."

Before he could do anything else, an older man stepped forward and embraced him as he stood next to the Dino Thunder Rangers...one of which was his son.

"Like Mr. Hartford with his team, on behalf of my team, I thank you, Jayden. I am Dr. Anton Mercer, head of Mercer Industries and I am proud to be a mentor to your father," he said. "With your arrival I now have hope for this world. As great as your father is, I have never seen him do the things you did today."

As soon as he found himself free, then he found himself being swallowed up by Wes and Jen. They too were overjoyed to see Jayden back from his quest, full powers in hand. Three weeks ago, they'd been with him at the amusement park in Silver Hills when Jayden was trying to climb the ladder of success to reach his powers.

With Jayden in possession of his powers in full, the married couple for the first time in a while felt hope.

"I thought for a while you'd never make it back," Jen said. "All we were told was that your quest was in progress."

"Believe me it wasn't easy," Jayden said. "Feel good that you never have to go through the Island of Illusions. It's a nasty place."

Jayden didn't noticed that Tommy heard that little piece and shivered.

"Man how much can you stack the deck against the guy, Dulcea," he muttered.

"Seriously are you feeling OK?" Wes asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Very tired, but I'm OK," Jayden said.

The next team to greet him was the Wild Force team. Jayden looked at their team with a tiny bit of worry; he had history with two of those team members. It was Princess Shayla that stepped forward first though.

"You've heard it a couple times by now, but on behalf Merrick, myself and our entire team, thank you for running those monsters off," Shayla said.

"It's like after you showed up, we got a second wind," Alyssa Emrile-Evans said. "Cole still has some lingering abilities thanks to his days as Deker, and he showed us what happened. It was because of you that we were able to fight them off."

"You're giving me too much credit, as much as I like the thanks," Jayden said. "That ability was always inside of you. Otherwise, Master Org would rule and I wouldn't be alive."

"Yeah but those guys were worse than Org. Way worse," Danny Delgado responded.

To Jayden's surprise, Taylor Earhardt-Meyers stepped forward next and nearly crushed him with a big bear hug.

"My mind is still reeling from what you just did, and how wrong I really was," Taylor said. "You didn't deserve it and I was out of line. I admit, I did not see you in the light I should have. Nothing was worse than when your father read me the riot act. Alyssa and Cole over there didn't speak to me for days."

"I really, and truly am, sorry," Taylor finished.

"I forgive you. If I didn't I'd be no better than the assholes I just fought," Jayden said. Everyone heard that which got a laugh out of everyone.

And then, they came face to face again.

Nearly four months ago, they fought in a classic duel.

The duel that began the acceleration of Jayden's powers.

Cole Evans, "The Rookie" had never been so happy to lose a fight in his life.

"I am like Taylor, I have much to apologize to you for," Cole said. "If I had remembered that you were to be the Phoenix, I maybe would have fought Serrator's control a little better than I did. You didn't have to go through that. That first duel should have been the end of it."

"Eh, don't sweat it," Jayden said. "In hindsight, Atsila was right. The duel had to happen, mainly for me to take that step forward. Perhaps if it hadn't been for you, maybe I wouldn't be where I am today."

"I'm going to need you if we're going to win. Stay strong, and don't get down on yourself."

After speaking with the Ninja Storm team briefly and then speaking with Dana Mitchell-Grayson (who informed him she wanted to check up on him before he went to rest), he fixed his eyes on the group he'd grown closest to.

Zordon's legacy.

The first group was the Space Rangers, including Andros, who embraced his nephew and fellow Red with tears in his eyes. With them was Mike the Magna Defender, the only one of the Lost Galaxy Rangers to escape Flammia's wrath.

"You don't know how much this means to me...to us," Andros said, trying his best to hold back the tears. "Those damned monsters overran my planet. They control it now. This one battle has made you their only hope for freedom."

"I'm from Mirinoi, they overran us too. My brother and his team are still prisoners to those assholes," Mike said. "I got choked up watching that. Until today, I wasn't aware of just how powerful the Falcon and Crane used to be. You are the living, breathing spirit of those two. Never lose it."

"I'm going to free your planet, Andros, and I'm going to free your teammates and your brother, Mike. I just need one shot and I guarantee it will happen," Jayden said. "I just need to them to give me that one opportunity to get them freed. We'll need them too."

A few moments later, he turned to see his aunts, uncles and father give him a standing ovation.

"What, I'm going to get a standing ovation now?" Jayden said.

"After what you just did. I think it's earned," Tanya said.

"You went through the Island of Illusions, did whatever else you had to do, picked off a number of Flammia's soldiers in space, and then made Scorpina and Draco look mortal," Kat said. "And you kept Flammia away from me, which is one less avenue she has to reinforce her anger."

"That's the whole idea. Half her anger is at you," Jayden said. "If I'm not there with you, I'm going to make sure you're protected."

It was a surprise to him when Adam pulled him into a huge hug. He expected that from his father, but not from the mild, meek Frog Ninjetti.

"Maybe you wonder why I'm so emotional about this. It has nothing to do with what you just did, and how you have given us hope, although that's great enough," Adam said. "But there's something more."

"Eighteen years ago, right as I became a Ranger, Scorpina hurt me. Almost destroyed me emotionally. It still hurts to talk about. I don't hold many grudges, because that's not part of my nature, but I'll probably always hold a grudge against her. Thank you for kicking her ass," Adam said.

"I will absolutely be happy to give her one for you the next time I see her. That said, I can't say too much more because like it or not, she and her child are an inexorable part of Mom's history," Jayden said.

Adam seemed to accept that, as Jayden waded through the congrats from the rest of his aunts and uncles, until he finally came face to face with his father.

"Words do not express...how proud I am right now. In all my years I never made that sort of an impact. Maybe when I was under Rita's control, but I don't think even then I did what you did. You made trained warriors seem like mere mortals which I have begun to doubt that anyone could do," Tommy said.

"Yeah, but you know they'll be back, Dad," Jayden said.

"Of course they will be but I guarantee you they won't be as confident as they were today. They thought they were going to just walk in here and rule the roost," Tommy said.

"Yeah, they got their faces bloodied today. Someone finally had the guts to stand up and punch the bully in the face," Jayden said. "I guarantee you the next time we see them it's gonna be bad. They're going to have a plan."

"Yeah, but let's just enjoy the moment. Even if it is for just a moment, it's best to enjoy it for what it is," Tommy said.

"Remember also that every time you destroy one of her goons, the control Maligore has over her cracks even more. Can't you feel it?" Aisha said. "The first cracks are starting to show. With every goon you destroy, Maligore's control weakens and Kim gets stronger."

"I can feel it cracking a bit, but Maligore still has the upper hand," Jayden said. "We cannot be overconfident. I had to go through hell and back just to be able to do this."

"I'm sad that the test included the Island of Illusions," Jason said. "I've been there. That's one nasty place."

"You don't know the half of it. I was also forced to watch you and Mom's history, Dad, and do nothing about it. The Evil Green Ranger, losing your powers twice, the cute things like the float ordeal, Mom fainting when she found out you were the White Ranger..." Jayden said.

A lot of the Rangers who weren't there that day (which was 99 percent of the room) would have paid good money to be a fly on the wall that day.

"...Mom finding out she was pregnant with me, the run-up to my birth and what happened on that fateful day, Mom getting her power coin stolen, the accident on the beam, everything that happened in Florida, the letter, her becoming what she is now, all of her conquests, why she didn't come back to us at the Countdown," Jayden said.

"And in addition after all that, I had to fight the Evil Green Ranger and win," Jayden said.

"Good God!" Rocky exclaimed.

"How can they stack the deck against one guy so much?" Marah said. "I don't want to sound like a whiner, I just don't think that's very fair. Dustin taught me a lot and I'm a trained ninja now, but I never had to do anything like what you did."

"That's what I'm still wondering but I'm here today," Jayden said.

"The guy the Samurai Rangers once knew, they'd hardly know him today. That quest changed me forever."

They all nodded mutely. Jayden may be considered a rookie by spandex standards, but he was acting like a seasoned Ranger veteran.

"Nonetheless, of all the people in this room, I feel maybe the most thankful," a woman said as she stepped in front of Jayden, with two battered, beaten and bruised men flanking her. "I was the ruler of your father's mentor's planet, and they ran me off like I was nothing."

"You are Rhiannon," Jayden said. "Uncle Billy and Dulcea told me about you. I'm going to avenge you too. When this thing is over, you're going to have your throne back and your people freed."

"You must be Trey, and you must be Phantom Ranger," Jayden said. "I want to know what happened and how you got here."

"As far as what happened, we've been sequestered in our Palace, prisoner of Flammia's forces for a few years since she overran us," Trey said. "We hardly get anything to eat or drink, so you can imagine how awful it is."

"As to how we got here, we have no idea. We were just...transported here somehow."

"We were hoping you could ask Dulcea somehow," Billy said.

 **'There is no need,'** a ghostly voice said as suddenly the room lit up crimson. **'I know the answer.'**

"Atsila, my spirit animal," Jayden murmured. "What do you know?"

 **'Another side effect of you claiming your powers, when you claimed your morpher, it set free some of those who have been set captive, including Trey and Phantom Ranger,'** Atsila said. **'However, there are a few issues still. The Dark Fortress Mark II still has powerful shielding on it which means the Lost Galaxy Rangers and Masked Rider are still Flammia's prisoners.'**

"And what else?" Jayden said.

 **'When you claimed your powers Dimitria and the former Divatox were set free from their prison on Inquiris, where they were since their planet was taken over,'** Atsila said. **'The problem is, that prison had such high magical barriers around it that they couldn't be directly teleported onto Earth. The backlash of power only teleported them as far as the Dark Fortress Mark II which is on Earth's moon.'**

 **'I understand that they decided to come aboard the Fortress, which I might add is for the most part unguarded as most of her soldiers moved into the Palace on the Moon,'** Atsila said. **'At some point very soon you will need to organize a rescue mission for all of these individuals.'**

"I've got an idea, but it will have to wait. I'm dead tired right now," Jayden said. "When the time is right, I will organize that rescue mission."

 **'Yes, you need to rest,'** Atsila said. **'You have been through enough.'**

With that the room stopped glowing crimson. The battle had been won today, but clearly there was much more work to be done.

Meanwhile, with a nod from his father, Jayden teleported back to Reefside. The second he hit his room, he plopped down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began some much needed rest.

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Their bodies, already tired from the near death experience today, were in complete shock.

Their minds...couldn't accept what they had just been told by Lauren and Mentor Ji.

All this time, Jayden, their undisputed leader, was never one of them.

As it turned out, his real family was in a crisis mode. It was no wonder he'd left town to help his family, or what was left of it. Granted, he'd taken Scorpina and Draco with him which kept Panorama City safe, but still.

Worse yet, he was now living with them. Well, one of them anyways, and if all went well, they all could be together again.

The Samurai Rangers who had proudly served Jayden felt like they'd been betrayed.

Worse yet, they were facing Jayden's own mother's evil half. How the hell were they even supposed to destroy her when she finally made her appearance?

They all looked ready to rebel, to walk out of the Shiba house for good. Except one person. And surprisingly, it wasn't Mia.

That was when Mike stood up at the front of a room that was in absolute chaos and looked 100 percent ready to revolt.

"Enough," Mike snapped. They all turned to him and looked at him like they were all in a Twilight Zone. What was going on here?

Emily looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Good. You're listening," Mike said. "You all look ready to revolt. I understand that, but I disagree. I stand with my leader and all of you should too. And I'm going to tell you why."

Kevin, Mia and Emily looked at him in shock, but kept their attention on him.

"I admit, you see the world a little differently when your brother is in a life and death situation. I mean, your real brother, which is what mine is in," Mike said. "As you may remember, my brother is in the Army, fighting in the Middle East for our freedoms, to do what we do."

Immediately, the room fell deathly silent. It was indeed different when a Ranger had a family member fighting for his life and all their lives too.

"As such, one of his favorite books is Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_. He urged me to pick up a copy while I was staying with Emily over the summer, so I did," Mike said. "I think the plan for Jayden, while it may not have worked out like they wanted, yet, is brilliant. There is a quote from _The Art of War_ that I want everyone to remember."

He then began reading the quote.

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make them believe we are near," Mike said.

"Look, I'm sorry for us that we had to know this way, but it's worked so far, hasn't it?" Mike said.

Mia, Kevin and Emily nodded mutely. It had worked so far; it beat Xandred and had dealt Flammia a devastating blow and ruined her coronation plans, at least for now.

"I don't know Dr. Oliver and Ms. Hart as she once was, but I think they and the others around them have done a brilliant job. Everyone thought Jayden was just a Samurai Ranger, when they kept his true destiny hidden all along," Mike said. "Admit it, no one knew that was coming. Not even us. That was the whole point, to attack in a way they wouldn't expect at just the right time."

"To add to the point Mike is making, let me just say that we need to remember Xandred was still around even a few months ago," Lauren said. "Jayden had his duties to fulfill then and he did it. Xandred was first priority always. If we hadn't beat him, we wouldn't be here today. If we had told you his true destiny while Xandred was still around that would have messed him up and would have messed us up completely."

"And remember this, he's accepted his true destiny," Mike said. "Don't you think that's enough reason to stand behind him in this time? He's going to need all of us."

"Especially you," Mike said, looking pointedly at Mia. "You may be the tipping point in this war because let's face it, you are his weakness. He will do anything for you."

"Besides, who was the team he went to go help, first and foremost?" Lauren said.

That did it for everyone. The mood changed drastically with that question.

They were still his friends. He'd come to help them first.

They couldn't turn their back on him now.

Five minutes ago, some of the Rangers were ready to walk out. Now, though tired, they were ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Here's the bottom line," Antonio said. "I'm the happy go lucky guy and I'm not one for rah-rah speeches, except now. You have to be more committed and put more into this cause than you have ever put anything else."

"Fact is, our legacies are at stake in this war. If we lose, we lose everything and Jayden loses everything. His dreams, his family, and very possibly his life," Antonio said.

Everyone fell silent. They all knew Antonio was right. It was no wonder when they saw him just hours ago, he wasn't quite the same guy they remembered.

"Man, we're gonna have to get a lot better though," Emily said. "We looked like minor leaguers out there."

"You're right, they got us good today," Lauren said. "But you need to keep your heads up. Belief, through good times and bad, is half the battle."

"None of us gave up hope when things looked hopeless," Antonio said. "We always found a way. We will get better, and when they attack again, they won't walk all over us again. They're tough but when we meet them again, we won't be so out of our league."

 **The Moon Palace**

Not far from where Flammia rested, Scorpina climbed into her bed to rest. Battered and bruised, she needed the rest probably more than any of Flammia's warriors.

Scorpina grunted at the notion of that Crimson Ranger being called a "rookie." Yeah, he may have been the latest Red, but anyone related to the Lord and Lady of the Skies, much less their son, was no ordinary rookie.

She'd felt that today. That kid had made her look like an idiot out there, and he was only going to get better.

There were still a lot of questions that needed to be answered though.

First of all, how the hell did they not find him sooner? All this time, the real Phoenix was right under their noses, and he had been fighting Master Xandred and his group of dangerous Nighloks.

Clearly they hadn't been paying enough attention. If they had been they would have snuffed this threat out before it even began.

Which raised a few more important questions in her mind. First of all, how in the hell had what was left of Kimberly Hart doggedly kept this from her evil half? Certainly knowledge of a secret such as this could have tipped the scales in their favor. Clearly, what was left of the Crane still remained otherwise they could have destroyed that Jayden kid by now.

An even better question: Why had she acquiesced to this sort of life all those years ago if she had a son? If there was a chance Scorpina could have to fight her daughter, there was no way she was going down that path.

And another question: Why in the world had she stayed in this life?

 **'You want the answers to why the Crane has done everything she did,'** a familiar voice said in her mind. **'Watch and see.'**

Not long after she dropped off to sleep, she felt her mind take a trip to the past.

 **She recognized this place instantly. This was Maligore's temple, in the Nemesis Triangle. Kimberly had already been converted to evil, and was tossing the Rangers around like rag dolls. She even scowled when Maligore tried his cheap trick act on Jason and it worked.**

 **But as Kimberly prepared to fight for her freedom, which there was a chance she could have attained, she was stunned as she heard Dulcea order Kimberly to surrender, for one reason and one reason only.**

 **Because of that child.**

 **That wretched witch Dulcea just had to tell Kimberly that if Maligore took her soul he could know about that child and destroy him. And of course, being the good mother that she was, Kimberly was only too happy to obey.**

Kimberly's former rival and now friend, as she tossed in her sleep, couldn't blame Kimberly for protecting her child. If her own child Nepa were in that situation, she would have sought everything to protect her too.

The scene then changed again.

 **She knew this scene all too well.**

 **The Dark Fortress, 1998. Dark Specter had ordered the invasion of the entire universe.**

 **But Scorpina knew what could happen if the Grand Monarch went through with this.**

 **She felt now as she did then, watching the scene play out all over again. Flammia, herself, and a very young Nepa.**

 **If she had stayed on the ship, Kimberly would be free right now, and none of this would be happening. Why had Kimberly chosen to stay a prisoner in this life?**

 **'Perhaps some otherwise innocent scenes could answer this question...' the voice said again.**

 **She then watched as her mind flashed back to various scenes. Flammia changing Nepa's diapers. Flammia feeding Nepa as a young, young child. Watching failed conquests with her as if the world meant nothing at all.**

 **She didn't miss the way Flammia looked at Nepa either, like a child was the most cherished thing in the universe.**

 **As she recalled back to those times, she didn't remember ever seeing Flammia so peaceful. She was a great conqueror, but in the back of her mind, knew Kimberly was always there. Just the way Flammia looked at Scorpina's prized child, Nepa, was something to cherish.**

 **And then it suddenly dawned on Scorpina as the scenes ended.**

 **Perhaps, Kimberly looked at Nepa, and whether she was evil or not, she saw her own child in Scorpina's daughter. To her, good or evil didn't matter.**

It was a good thing Scorpina's eyes were closed. Otherwise, tears would have rained out in buckets.

 **'Oh, Kim,'** she thought. Any sort of hatred she may have had for the former Kimberly Ann Hart dissipated right then and there. Evil or good, it really didn't matter anymore. Kimberly knew right from wrong.

 **'Now you know,'** the voice said in her mind. **'And at some point, you will have to make a decision.'**

 **'Master Vile,'** she thought, happy to hear the voice even if in her mind; she and Vile were close friends from way back. **'Are you alive?'**

 **'No, Scorpina. But I've seen everything that's happened. From hell, for sure, but I've seen it. If you truly value Kimberly Ann Hart then you know what you must do if it comes to that. Remember what I said. Not everything is about good and evil, black and white, Scorpina. This is about love and family.'**

 **'She sacrificed fifteen Earth years of her life because in your daughter, she saw a child, her child. When she was the Pink Ranger, that mother of hers could have aborted her child. I would have never aborted Rito or any of my other family members.'**

 **To her, that was worth saving. Now, at some point you will have to make a major decision, even if unpopular. Good luck.'**

The voice faded away in her mind, and for the first time, a thought crossed Scorpina's mind that she believed until now, never would.

 **'Kimberly Ann Hart, you will always be my friend, good or evil. Never forget it. And some day, I'll repay you.'**

 **September 9, 2012**

 **1:45 p.m. local time**

 **Somewhere between Reefside and Panorama City**

For a 17th birthday, the day had been, thus far, been uneventful.

Jayden, blindfolded in the back seat, wondered where the hell he was going.

Tommy had only said, "they were taking him to his birthday present." Wherever the hell that was.

And Week One of the National Football League season wasn't it, although that was reason to celebrate enough.

Even better, Tommy's Jeep Patriot had satellite radio installed in it, so they could listen to football on the way to wherever the surprise was.

The last week or so had been uneventful. There was, surprisingly, no sign of Flammia's attacks. By now, Jayden thought, they would have attacked again. Which meant next time they showed their faces it was going to be real bad.

In the meanwhile, he was making great progress on his GED, and Tommy was allegedly real close on finalizing the papers that would legally change Jayden's last name from Shiba to Oliver.

About an hour later, the Jeep finally stopped, and Tommy helped Jayden out of the car. Leading him by the hand, the two listened as some sort of wooden gate creaked open.

Jayden had a pretty good idea of where he was now, although he couldn't be 100 percent sure.

He felt himself going through a couple of doors, and then a few minutes later, felt his Dad reach up and take off his blindfold.

"Take a look at your surroundings," Tommy said. Jayden knew this place instantly; he was right all along.

He was in the Shiba House. It seemed empty but Jayden knew better.

Someone had been here obviously, because all the trappings for a birthday celebration were set. Cake, decorations, presents, the whole bit. Someone probably was here.

That thought barely escaped him when a number of voices shouted "SURPRISE!" simultaneously.

Jayden noticed not only his teammates and his adopted sister, but pretty much every single Ranger who had donned the spandex.

At his party.

A moment later, he was pulled into an embrace. A familiar embrace.

"Happy birthday, little brother," Lauren Shiba said as she embraced Jayden, pulling back so her, and his, teammates could do the same. This moment wasn't insignificant; it was the first time Jayden had seen his Samurai teammates since he'd rescued them 10 days ago.

It was going to be a 17th birthday party to remember.

"Remember this day and all your birthdays forever, Jayden," Mentor Ji said. "No one can spoil this day."

 **The Moon Palace**

The Rangers were completely unaware they were being watched.

It had taken about a week, but Flammia's army had finally licked its wounds and was chomping at the bit to get back at the man who had interrupted what otherwise would have been a sure victory.

"So, that Crimson Ranger's birthday is today. And that old man doesn't think I can spoil his day, huh? We'll see about that," Flammia said. "Nepa, come here. Here is what we will do..."

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	14. 14: Spectacular 17th Part II

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter includes the birthday celebration...and an ambush?

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 14: Spectacular 17th Part II

 **Sept. 9, 2012, late afternoon**

 **The Shiba House**

 **Panorama City, CA**

Jayden was awed at everything he saw.

His Ranger family had spared no expenses.

Everyone was here sans the Rangers such as SPD and RPM who were from different dimensions.

Almost every Ranger was smiling but most notably his Samurai teammates. No doubt, since it was here, they had a large role in planning this whole thing out.

"Happy birthday, man," Mike said, embracing his teammate for the first time since Jayden had put the spandex back on ten days ago. "Thanks for saving us in that first battle when Scorpina and Draco were about to make mincemeat out of us."

"No problem. I take it everyone knows everything?"

"Yeah, and we're cool with it now but you should know some of the team was ready to rebel. Lauren, Antonio and I had to set them straight. Mia was straight out pissed. You could have told her when we were watching Kevin, you know," Mike said.

"I know and I'm going to have a talk with her when this is over," Jayden said. "There are reasons I didn't say anything, and I will speak with you all later about that. For now, I think we should just enjoy the celebrations."

"Just so you know, she's still a little peeved with you. Some of the Rangers calmed her down but be warned. Talking with her may or may not be a good idea right now," Mike said.

"Point well taken," Jayden said as he went to get himself some cake. Even then though, his senses were tingling. He just had the nagging feeling something was going on, and remained alert at all times.

As he sat down next to Kat, he said, "I see you found out what my favorite cake is."

As it turned out, he liked it simple. Red colored cake with white frosting. That hadn't been missed by anyone either.

"Yeah, when you know Mentor Ji, Daisuke and Lauren and have been in contact with them for a while, you tend to get an idea of these things."

The celebration was jovial for a while as everyone enjoyed the treats and refreshments provided, but as everyone moved into the living room to get set to open Jayden's presents, things suddenly took an unexpected turn.

Even Lauren noticed the difference as she was one of those that handed Jayden his presents. He accepted his gifts, but he was obviously in some sort of trance or something.

Indeed, he was barely paying attention. Because a voice was filtering through his head...a voice he had never before heard, but it belonged to a person that he was tied to by blood.

 **'Jayden, Jayden, are you there, my son,'** was all he heard.

Son, he thought. That must mean the voice was...

 **' _Mom, is that...you_?'**

 **'It is. I am so happy to speak to you at long last. Happy birthday, my son.'**

 **' _Thanks, mom. Is something wrong?'_**

 **'Yeah, I wish we were speaking on better terms. Listen to me closely, I only have a few seconds. You must act quickly. My alter ego is trying to spoil your birthday. It's an ambush. The Shiba house has been invaded. Find the threat, quickly!'**

 ** _'Your evil half's army can penetrate these walls?'_**

 **'Absolutely. Find the threat and do it quickly! Good luck, my dear, sweet Phoenix.'**

Almost instantaneously when Jayden snapped out of his trance, things suddenly went to hell. Jayden's eyes flashed a partial shade of green and crimson which made everyone do a double take.

"Everyone! Out, now! Out of the house!" Jayden barked. "No exceptions!"

"But, your birthday!" Mia protested.

"No, Mia. Out. You especially. The Shiba house has been compromised. I will handle the threat. Go. Everyone, be ready to morph at a moment's notice. Ji, get them outside."

"You heard him," Ji ordered. "Everyone go! No exceptions."

As soon as everyone was out of the house, Jayden breathed a sigh of relief. He then called on his animal spirit once again for guidance and tapped into his invisibility power to make sure no one could see him.

He soon pinpointed the source of the disturbance. It was upstairs of course. That was where some of the Rangers slept, and there was an attic up there too.

He quickly hightailed it upstairs and found where the disturbance was quickly. It made him groan.

Mia's room. Of course.

It was a sound, if but unoriginal, strategy. Use Mia against him in some way.

Sure enough, he poked his head in the door and saw Vipera, head of the Temptatonians, with one of her lead Rattler soldiers, Venomo, who was also very dangerous.

"Ninja Ranger Power, Phoenix," he murmured, which transformed him into his ninja mode.

"It's perrrrrfect," Jayden heard Venomo hiss. "Once I put this spell on the Pink Samuraizer, that girlfriend of the Crimson Ranger will be all ours some day. And the best part is that Crimson Ranger will be helpless to stop it."

He then charged up his hands with evil energy, directly leveled at Mia's Samuraizer, which sat on her nightstand. One big blast, and the spell would slowly, but surely, take effect.

Venomo and Vipera had no idea someone else was in the room. They didn't have any idea until a pink-tinted energy arrow completely swallowed the would be blast whole and struck Venomo's arm, causing his body to spark violently and Venomo to cry out in pain.

"Vipera! Get this damn thing off me!" Venomo howled.

She barely had time to rip it out (which left a trail of gross, green blood on his arm) before a crimson blur came flying at the two of them, sending them flying into the wall and nearly ruining Mia's bookshelf. They glared at the unwelcome attacker.

"You! You killed Squalus you crimson freak!" Venomo hissed angrily.

"Yeah and you'll be next if you don't get the hell out of my girlfriend's room and do it now!" Jayden snapped back. "Don't think I won't do it."

"On second thought," Jayden added, "I think I have a better idea. Time for you to meet some of my friends."

Without a second's hesitation, Jayden leapt forward, grabbed both villains and smacked their heads together, leaving both villains woozy. Before they could recover, he grabbed them both and pressed a button on his crimson communicator, which took the three of them out of the house.

They landed in front of a group of fifty or sixty some-odd Rangers who watched the scene in shock. Jayden had been right, the Shiba House had been infiltrated in some way.

"Oh, gross," Emily cried, barely able to keep from gagging as she saw the icky green blood trickling off Venomo's arm.

The Samurai Rangers were probably most surprised; they felt the Shiba House was invincible. They'd been proven wrong.

And Tommy didn't miss that Jayden was holding an old weapon he was very familiar with.

The Power Bow.

"So not only can he control mine and Kim's Zords, he probably has all of our weapons at his beck and call too," Tommy murmured. "Wow."

Vipera and Venomo were also in shock. How the hell had the Crimson Ranger found them in the first place? He was preoccupied with his birthday!

Jayden then turned to the Samurai Rangers, especially Mia.

"They were in your room and tried to corrupt your Samuraizer," Jayden said to Mia, then looked at his Samurai teammates. "They invaded our privacy. You guys want to let them have it?"

"Absolutely. They tried to ruin this special day. Not only that, they were on my property," Mia said. "Let's morph and kick their asses."

Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't get that chance.

"I don't think so, Rangers," Vipera growled as she helped Venomo to his feet. "We're not that stupid. Two of us against 60 or so of you is like suicide. You win today, Rangers, but you haven't heard the last of us."

With that said, the two of them disappeared before the Rangers could attack.

"Yeah, run and hide you cowards," Jayden said.

"Are we all clear, Jayden?" Mentor Ji asked.

After a moment of consulting with his animal spirit, Jayden turned to Ji and said, "Yes, we're all clear. Power Rangers, one and all...Victory is ours," Jayden said.

 **The Moon Palace**

"Crimson Ranger...DAMN YOU!" Flammia bellowed. The throne room at this point was empty, as expected. No one was in the room, and rightfully so. Anyone within Flammia's sights right now was going to get annihilated she was so angry.

"I had the PERFECT PLAN! How COULD IT FAIL!" she ranted and raved.

 **'Correction. You THOUGHT you had the perfect plan. Too bad for you that I know what you're up to,'** a sweet, sickening voice echoed through her mind.

Flammia had to admit, this was going to be so much tougher than she ever thought possible. It was almost like she was fighting a two front war now.

It was bad enough fighting the new Crimson Ranger and his awesome powers, but she still had to deal with the fact that Kimberly Hart was still alive and well.

And that Kimberly really didn't care that much about her well being anymore. As long as the Crimson Ranger was protected, she was more than happy to continue the status quo.

No doubt, that former pink Power Parasite had let her damn son know about the Shiba House being compromised. And predictably, Vipera and Venomo alone didn't have much of a chance against Jayden, not to mention 60 or so Rangers who were there to celebrate his birthday.

She was only too lucky that Kimberly had grown too weak to do anything more after she'd let Jayden know of the attack. That's why she'd been able to call Vipera and Venomo back so easily this time, otherwise that Pink Ranger would be growing even stronger.

 **'Face it, missy, you took a bad gamble. You thought he'd be so preoccupied he wouldn't notice the attack. Too bad he has help,'** the voice rang through her head again.

"I will kill your soul some day, Kimberly Ann Hart. Then you, your son, and your world will belong to me. The day of reckoning is coming and we will devour you," Flammia growled.

 **'So far, the good guys are two for two against you. I look forward to it being three for three. I'd say good luck, that you'll need it, but I'd be lying.'**

"Some day I'm not going to need luck to beat your son. Some day, HIS luck will run out. You'll see."

To do it though, she knew she'd need to take the kid gloves off. Even today, she knew, wasn't a well planned out attack. She'd only sent two of her top warriors and none of her footsoldiers.

Flammia was in unfamiliar territory, she knew. The territory of not being in control of the fight. Jayden was in control of the fight instead, so far. He was dictating everything, and had dealt some devastating blows elsewhere rather than just on Earth. She already knew Trey and Phantom Ranger were no longer prisoner and would one day be good enough to fight.

She recalled 10 days ago, when she found out the unfortunate truth that she'd lost two potential trump cards and was lucky she hadn't lost more.

 **Flashback, 10 days earlier**

 **She wondered how this day could get any worse, as she attempted to sleep off the devastating loss and the shocking turn of events which led to the revelation that indeed, there was a serious challenger to her iron grip on the entire universe.**

 **Perhaps she shouldn't have asked.**

 **That's when she heard a knock at the door.**

 **"Whoever it is, go away!" Flammia bellowed. "I need my sleep and I need it now!"**

 **"Mistress, I need you to come with me. It is absolutely urgent," the voice of General Finch said.**

 **The second Flammia ripped the door open, and looked at Finch, he almost regretted that he had to do what he was going to do.**

 **"This better be important. I can't take a visit for trivial matters right now, Finch!" Flammia roared.**

 **"This is very important. I have a transmission from my lieutenant Jorus on Triforia. You need to hear this," Finch insisted.**

 **Flammia grunted. Jorus was very reliable. What could possibly happen?**

 **Moments later, they walked into Finch's room, where a connection was already established. Flammia could see this wasn't good, Jorus had a nervous look on his face.**

 **"This better be good news, Jorus," Flammia said.**

 **"Unfortunately, Mistress, the news isn't good," Jorus said. "Mere hours ago I received word from my men guarding Trey and the Phantom Ranger that they just disappeared. Just, poof, they were gone."**

 **"Jorus men have been looking all over for them throughout their palace, wondering if they were hiding. They searched every nook and cranny. They found nothing," Finch said.**

 **"After putting my men through immense torture, I had them run a scan of Trey and the Phantom Rangers' energy signatures. It appears they were transported...to Earth."**

 **"You can't be SERIOUS!" Flammia screamed. "What the hell could have made that happen?"**

 **"I have my suspicions, but I can't prove it yet," Finch said. "I have a feeling it has something to do with the appearance of the Crimson Ranger that beat us today."**

 **Flammia scratched her chin. It was an interesting thought, but there was no way the Crimson Ranger could have been in two places at once.**

 **"Did the Crimson Ranger show up and take him, Jorus?" Flammia asked.**

 **"No, he didn't," Jorus responded.**

 **"I believe the both of you, but I'm not happy that I lost two of my trump cards!" Flammia roared, as she stomped out of Finch's room, leaving both men quite distressed.**

 **Later that night though, the truth had come to her in a vision. It had turned out that the backlash of power from the Crimson Ranger's morpher had teleported both of the prisoners to Earth, and had almost set free the former Divatox and Dimitria as well.**

 **She apologized to both Finch and Jorus for her outburst the next day, but was still angry. Beyond angry.**

 **End Flashback**

10 days later, and the anger hadn't subsided.

She had the most dominant army in the universe, that even at the Rangers' best outnumbered them by quite a bit. She didn't blame any of her soldiers, they'd done what she asked them to do. And, they were family.

She more or less blamed herself. She'd underestimated badly Jayden's abilities and he'd beat her twice in a row.

But she knew one advantage that she had. There was strength in numbers. That was their biggest advantage, and next time she decided to attack, she was going to use it.

 **The Shiba House**

Everyone had been surprised ten days earlier by Jayden's physical abilities. Physically, he was a freak of a specimen. He was in the best shape of his life, and knew how to use his powers.

In some ways, to the group of Rangers that sat back down in the Shiba house, in a few ways they were even more surprised than what happened a little over a week ago.

Because he'd diagnosed a sneak attack, an infiltration of the house really before it even got started. Some of the Rangers looked at Tommy, who shook his head. It was clear the father had no idea how his son got the knowledge there was a sneak attack. Only Jayden had the knowledge of the infiltration. He clearly had dirt that no one else did.

The Samurai Rangers were also a bit melancholy. Like the early waves of Zordon's teams with the old Command Center, they believed the Shiba House was a place evil could never touch.

Yet, the new bad guys in town had infiltrated the place like it was nothing at all. And if Jayden had not stopped it, it would have been bad news for Mia. Clearly, they were already placing a target on the Pink Samurai Ranger, as was expected.

The pensive mood soon turned to celebration though, as Jayden still had presents to open.

Many of them were special in different ways. Justin and Hayley had come through for him again, presenting him with a game designed for his iPad and his iPad alone, though most Rangers had this game too.

It was a Ranger-specific game based on past Ranger situations and monsters faced. In it, Jayden would have the opportunity to place himself in certain situations to see how he would handle them.

For his wardrobe, he received some...well, dressier outfits, including a crimson colored suit coat and matching tie for really formal situations.

But the real special presents were the last gifts he received. The second he opened the first of the gifts, he knew just on instinct it was extra special.

It was some sort of necklace, but just feeling it, it brimmed with power. And the attacked pendant was similar to phis new Power Coin in one aspect.

It had the emblem of a Phoenix in the center, but the Falcon and Crane flanked either side. It made Jayden's eyes mist over.

After his first encounter with his mother (well, sort of), and now this, Jayden's motivation had increased significantly. Not that he needed more than he had.

"That necklace was made by my first father, my deceased father from the reservation outside Angel Grove, Samuel Trueheart," Tommy said. "Sadly, he passed about a year ago. But he had a wisdom that rivaled Zordon's. He knew this day would come. My brother, your uncle David, said there was a message attached to that pendant. I have not seen it. You and I will view it once we get back home."

"That is amazing what you just received, Jayden," Mia said.

Jayden nodded mutely. It was a real honor to receive such a special gift. That was when he decided to speak up.

"Before we go to the second gift, speaking of Mom and this pendant, I talked to her."

All Rangers associated with Zordon shot up like a bolt of lightning.

"You WHAT?" Aisha said.

"You heard me," Jayden said. "I didn't see her but I talked to her. It's because of her that today's threat was thwarted. She doesn't have a lot of strength but used to it warn me."

Everyone nodded solemnly. They didn't doubt it was true.

Tommy's eyes brimmed with tears of happiness as did all those who knew Kimberly. The Crane may not be what she was, but she still had the ability to fight her oppressor.

"It's like I told you guys earlier," Antonio said, specifically addressing the Samurai Rangers. "You all need to put more into this mission than you've ever put anything else. There is so much at stake here. There's no shame in giving it all you have win or lose, but there is a lot of shame in not giving it your best."

They all listened, as Antonio's words pierced through their souls.

Mia in particular felt the weight of those words. Her sanctuary in the Shiba House had been breached and now she was going to be a major catalyst in this war.

Rocky, as her mentor in more ways than one, tried to reassure her, but it wasn't much use. The pressure was overwhelming.

"There is another thing that I'd like to discuss with all of you, while we're on Ranger business," Jayden said. "It's going to pain me with what I'm going to say."

"You all need to move out of here, as soon as possible," Jayden said. "There is a new Chamber of Command outside my original hometown of Angel Grove."

The Samurai team looked at him like he was incredulous. How in the world could he ask them to do this 10 days after they'd just moved back in?

Mentor looked none too pleased also.

"I'm serious, guys," Jayden said. "The new digs are a lot safer than the house right now. You seriously think they can't get in here again? If they get in here again and you guys are caught it's going to be really bad."

"It's one time," Kevin said. "This house means too much to me."

Mia looked pensive though, like she was thinking about it.

Finally, she stood up.

"I'm with him," Mia said. The others looked surprised. There was a clear divide between those who wanted to stay and move.

"I'm sorry but the more I think about it, the more it horrifies me tha they were in my sanctuary and that ugly green blood is yucking up the place. The smell is probably horrific too. How would you like it if they invaded your privacy?"

Slowly, everyone started to stand up. First Kevin, then Mike, then Emily, then Antonio.

Jayden groaned inwardly though as the two people he hoped would stand, remained seated.

"We'll do it," Antonio said. "I believe what he's saying. I haven't seen the new digs but word is they're pretty nice. Lauren, please come with me."

Lauren and Mentor shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, but we'll stay for now," Mentor said. "This place means too much to your sister and I."

Jayden looked at them hard. He didn't like the answer, but he respected it.

"I accept this answer, but the second trouble comes up, you better come join us," Jayden said. "Are we clear?"

"Clear," Lauren said as she gripped her adopted brother's hand.

Tommy cleared his throat, and the Rangers realized suddenly that still more business was at hand.

"Your second gift, is coming through the door right now," Tommy said. "It's the grandparents you DON'T have to worry about."

"So not the Paris clan," Jayden said.

"No. We'll cross that bridge later once this whole Flammia thing is taken care of," Tommy said. "These are my parents, Elizabeth and Jim. They informed me years ago during the Dino Thunder saga that Zordon talked to them and told them everything...he felt they needed to know. They know about you too."

Jayden gulped deeply. This one could go any number of ways, he knew.

"No, it's OK. They've been looking forward to this for years, and they can't wait for you to bring...her...my Beautiful, home. Mom, Dad, please come on out."

Before Jayden knew it, he was swept up in a loving hug by two older adults who looked to be somewhere in their 60s.

"I have waited for this day for so long, hoping that one day I would get to see my grandson grown up," Elizabeth Oliver said. "Now, it's finally here. I was actually near downtown just getting off work when you tore the house down 10 days ago. You're still the talk of Angel Grove, well at least your spandex form is."

"And just think, you've met so many new family members you never knew you had," Jim Oliver said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you grow into a fine young adult, with or without your mother in the fold. It's a tragedy what's happened to her."

"I'm going to bring her home. We're going to win this thing," Jayden said.

"I hope you can, but I also know the cold, harsh reality. This army makes Rita and Zedd's army look like paradise. Your mother was the finest young lady I ever had the privilege of meeting and it's a damn shame what the fates did to her," Elizabeth said.

"I'm going to win. We're going to win. These guys and I are going to systematically destroy Maligore's henchmen until it's just me and Flammia. Then, I'm going to make my dreams come true," Jayden said. He then turned back towards the Rangers.

"Just a second, if you'll excuse me, I have a favor to ask. Uncle Billy, Uncle Justin, cousin Cam?"

"Yeah?" Billy, Justin and Cam said simultaneously.

"I want you to go up to Mia's room while we have a moment. Get a sample of that blood, if it's still there and take it back to the Chamber of Command. I want to know everything about those two monsters' DNA and possibly how to beat them."

"Got it, let's go guys," Justin said as they headed upstairs, while Jayden resumed talking with his grandparents.

"And beware of the smell!" Mia called.

"We know," Billy replied.

 **Later That Night**

Inside, the cleanup was underway. It had been a birthday celebration to remember, in more ways than one.

Tommy and Jayden would head back to Reefside in a bit, but for now, Jayden needed space.

The attempted ambush, the presents, the significance. He'd never had a birthday celebration like this before, then again he'd never been in a situation like this before.

He heard movement near him, and heard someone sit down next to him. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. He could recognize those footfalls anywhere.

"What a day," Jayden sighed as he turned to face his girlfriend, really for the first time in an informal setting since he'd returned.

Jayden gulped inwardly. There was really no other way to do this...

"I'm going to tell you why I did everything I did since May, but I'm going to let you rant first," Jayden said. "I know it's coming so I may as well just listen and take it."

"Under normal circumstances, you bet your ass I'd let you have it," Mia said. "And I'm still a little peeved that you kept this from me simply because of pride, but your father, the Ninja Storm team and the Dino Thunder guys told me why you kept this from us."

"As much as it pains me to say it, you did the right thing. What would have happened if you had told us back in July, a month before they attacked? I would have been stressed out of my mind, would not have been totally focused on life itself and my schooling, and wouldn't have been using the gift you gave us," Mia said. "The ability to go on with our lives."

"That was, in the end, why I decided to let it go at that point. That and I didn't want to let Flammia's goons have any inkling to what I was doing. Had I told you, you all would have rushed back home to protect me, wouldn't have been living your lives and Flammia may have suspected," Jayden said.

"Yeah," Mia said. "By the way, I've decided to give up on my dream...in a way."

"What do you mean?" Jayden said.

"I hope you noticed I wasn't anywhere near the kitchen today," Mia said. "Ever since I started with Rocky, well, I tried. But he and I have come to the agreement that being in the kitchen itself is just too difficult for me. I don't know why none of the things I cook work out, but they don't."

"So, Rocky decided to point me towards the business college that's affiliated with his school. He thinks I'd be much better with the clerical aspect of running a restaurant," Mia said. "I'm just really sad that my dream will never be a reality."

"Hey, it still is. Just not in the way you think. I'm glad you finally figured out that maybe cooking isn't your thing," Jayden said. "You're still potentially in the business, and just like with our team, it takes a team to run a restaurant. Just because you're not in the kitchen, doesn't mean you aren't part of a team."

"You're right," Mia said. "And besides, I can still be a part of your dreams. As long as your dreams come true, I'm happy."

"Thanks for taking my suggestion to switch locations," Jayden said. "I couldn't live with myself if the house is compromised and something happened to you."

"Yeah that wouldn't be good at all," Mia said. "Besides, I don't even want to go up there right now. The stench is probably pretty terrible still."

"Yeah I admit I went a little crazy," Jayden said. "I didn't know I could spill their blood or that they even have blood, then again, I turned Flammia's top shark general to ash 10 days ago."

"I just know they're going to sic the numbers game on us," Mia said. "The size of their army...it actually makes me wish for the Moogers. Ew, did I just say that?"

Jayden could barely stifle a laugh. But in a way, she was right. The Moogers, as annoying as they could be, were nothing like this army.

"Yeah, they outnumber us, and outstrength us, but so far they haven't proven to be that smart," Jayden said. "But yeah, they'll probably try to overwhelm us next time we face them. Whenever that is."

"There's so much pressure though. When Antonio spoke, it felt like he dumped the weight of the world on my shoulders," Mia said. "To me, losing isn't an option here. This is about your future...OUR future."

"No, that's where you're wrong. It isn't about winning and losing, even Antonio said that. I know you'll fight for me and so will the team. As long as you give it your best, win or lose, I can accept that," Jayden said. "It's not trying at all that's unacceptable. But I know that's not going to happen with you or I...us. We'll give it our all and hope for the best."

"In the meantime, let's just enjoy the moment," Jayden finished.

It was at that moment when both of them saw Tommy stick his head out the door.

"You ready to go, Jay?" Tommy said.

"Yeah, I am, give me just a second," Jayden said, turning back towards Mia. "Let me know when you get your stuff together and are ready to move out. Trust me, you'll like the new base."

"OK. See you soon, Jayden," Mia said as she hugged him tight. "And happy birthday."

"Thank you," Jayden said. "See you soon, too."

With that, Jayden headed inside, grateful that he had avoided a potential rant from Mia. He'd have to thank the Ninja Storm team and Conner when he could. And of course, his father.

That said, he had an uneasy feeling that Mentor Ji and Lauren had decided to stay here for now, as he gathered up his gifts and prepared to head back to Reefside.

He just hoped sentimental feelings wouldn't come back to bite Ji and Lauren...and by extension, his team and family.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	15. 15: The Dissension

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. I'll warn you readers, some potentially dark times are ahead for our heroes, beginning in this chapter. Very few warm and fuzzies in this chapter.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 15: The Dissension

 **Sept. 18, 2012**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

"Mom, you cannot be serious!" Mia Watanabe said as she pleaded with her mother over the phone, trying to get her to see reason.

Unfortunately, Mia's pleas were falling on deaf ears. She knew she'd made the right decision to move into the new Chamber of Command, and knew that in here, she was the safest she could ever be, but she wasn't getting her mother to see reason.

Unfortunately, she knew it would come down to this eventually.

Not long after the incident on Jayden's birthday, she had indeed moved out of the Shiba house...they ALL had, with the exception of Lauren and Mentor, who were trying to hold on to some sense of nostalgia.

And unfortunately for the Samurai Power Rangers, soon after news had gotten through the grapevine about everything that had happened, their parents with the exception of possibly Emily's parents, who understood how fast things could change, were staunchly against everything the Rangers had done in this new war.

And they were staunchly against how Jayden's teammates had rallied around him and his cause. The Rangers' parents remembered the deceased Michael and Michelle Shiba, loved them both, and believed Jayden was ungrateful towards the role his deceased adopted parents had played in his life.

And being Jayden's girlfriend, Mia had it the worst. Her parents and in particular her mother felt the strongest about both these opinions. She knew she had it the worst because she'd been given an ultimatum: Either retire your Samuraizer immediately, or at least, stop dating Jayden, or forget about any sort of support in the future, be it moral or financial.

"I hate that it's come to this, mother, but I choose what's right. And what you're proposing is not right. I choose to fight for our world by any means necessary, and I choose Jayden," Mia said, tears in her eyes. "I guess...this means goodbye at least for now."

Not long after that, Mia came into the mess hall with tears in her eyes. Normally, she loved this place, even though she didn't cook anymore. The mess hall had pretty much anything one could want to eat, including the galaxy-wide famous Synthetron which could produce meals in an instant.

All the Rangers gathered there knew what happened the second Mia walked in.

"You couldn't convince her, could you?" Hunter Bradley asked, looking at her sympathetically. He could relate; when he started dating Tori, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson were vehemently against it. They pleaded for Tori to wait for Blake to come back home, but he never did.

"No, unfortunately not," Mia said in a broken voice. "Unfortunately, I don't think anyone or anything will be able to convince her."

"Unfortunately, as her brother, I know Makiko all too well," Kanoi said. "She is stubborn, just as she was when she held that Samuraizer, and will not back down from her opinion. She is wrong, but it will take a while for her to realize that."

"Which, unfortunately, is time we don't have," Rocky DeSantos said. "This is all we need, our own flesh and blood driving a wedge between us."

"Tommy knows how it feels too," Elizabeth Oliver said. "When he started dating Kimberly, he received tremendous backlash. Her mother had a tremendous amount of animosity towards Tommy; her father hated Tommy, too but her mother absolutely loathed him. It was pathetic."

"We all need to stay together somehow, but unfortunately it's going to be very difficult with this hanging over our heads," Billy said. Trini nodded as she slipped an arm around him, which no one missed. "They're going to attack at some point while this is over our heads."

"Yeah and that's the last thing we need," Andros said.

"Don't worry about the financial part, Mia," Trini said. "I'm the Ranger Lawyer for a reason. You'll get all the financial support you need while you're with us, and that's going to be a long time."

"Fortunately I still have my car, but my mother knows my bank account information," Mia said. "I just know she's going to try to pull money from my account just to make an example."

"She has no right to do that and if she tries that you have every right to sue her in court. And I'll kick her ass," Trini vowed.

Mia felt a lot better about things, but she couldn't lie, it hurt to not have her mother's support. She'd always looked to her mother for guidance and now, at the most critical time in her life, she couldn't count on that.

No one saw Jayden come in the room and no one realized he was there until he suddenly wrapped his arms around Mia and held her tight. Eyes all around the room misted over.

They could all see the chemistry between the two; it was palpable. Much like a certain...duo...of the past, the love between the two was obvious for all to see.

And Mia needed the mora support now more than ever.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, in the coming days, their problems were about to get worse.

Much worse.

As Jayden hugged Mia, the significance of this day, and what had happened on this day nearly 20 years ago, was not lost on him.

Nearly 20 years ago today, his father had fought his Uncle Jason at the Youth Center in town (Jayden had been told not long ago that its old owner Ernie had retaken control of the place a few years ago), and that was where the relationship between his parents had started.

Now, 19 years later, the Samurai Ranger family was coming apart at the seams, and even when this was all over, the healing would be slow to take place.

 **Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012**

 **6:45 p.m local time**

 **1492 Valencia Drive**

 **Reefside, CA**

Jayden was working a heavy load on GED testing preparation. He was finally, hopefully he thought, getting better at the one thing thing that was giving him trouble: math. Sometimes, even though he was spending most of his days at the Chamber, he came back to Reefside and his father's residence to get some peace and quiet, away from the hubbub.

Fortunately, he had great help with the math. Most of his aunts and uncles, and his father, were very good at math. They'd taught him well, and even though it still gave him problems and it was taking sometimes hours per day to get him better, he was making progress.

He needed a break, but he wasn't going to get the type of break he hoped for as he heard a knock at the door.

He opened it, and saw his father and his Aunt Hayley standing before him.

"I hate to interrupt, but we have trouble over at the Chamber of Command. We need everyone there now," Hayley said.

"OK, I'll be right there," Jayden said.

Moments later, he found himself in the main room, and worry filled his face. There, being held up by several of the Samurai Rangers, was a frazzled and worried-looking Mentor Ji.

"Mentor," Jayden said. "What happened?"

"You were right, Jayden. The Shiba House is not safe to be at anymore," Ji said. "I barely escaped today and was able to take the Samurai car here."

"Did it get compromised again?" Jayden asked with alarm.

"I fear so and worse yet, I fear your sister has been corrupted," Ji said. "And it may have happened last night while we were sleeping."

"That's an awfully bold accusation," Kevin said, which Conner nodded at. If there was one person who had learned not to make accusations too quickly from his Ranger days, it was Conner.

"Yeah, what makes you think that?" Cam asked.

"I think that because yesterday, throughout the day, she was her usual self. She was loving, kind, her usual sweetheart self," Ji said. "This morning when I woke up, she was irritable, grouchy and blew me off at breakfast."

"And I have one more piece of evidence to show you," Ji said. "Jayden, I hated to invade your privacy like this but I recorded this on your Samuraizer."

"Oh heavens, thank you for going and getting that, Ji," Jayden said, as he reached for his Samuraizer. "Let me see that."

He pressed play as Ji already had the recording up on his phone. Second by second, his heart broke.

His adopted sister, the one who had always been there for him, was talking with Draco. And wasn't fighting him.

Then, he saw Lauren's eyes flash a deep shade of red. Jayden couldn't take any more.

He turned his Samuraizer off and collapsed to the floor as tears rained from his eyes.

One of his worst nightmares had become reality. All those days in the Shiba House that he'd spent trying to live up to the standard his adopted sister, and deceased parents, had set, were now going to be put to the test. He always worried that no matter how much he tried, he was always going to be in the shadow of his big sister.

He was actually going to have to face Lauren in combat soon...and be successful.

All of a sudden, Jayden didn't feel like the mighty Phoenix anymore, the guy who had talked a big game. He felt more vulnerable than ever. Now, he was going to have to deal with a problem with the one remaining member of his adopted family.

It was a family feud that could potentially drag the Rangers to their knees. And even more than that, Lauren could now be successful in turning the Samurai Rangers' parents against them. Mia had already lost her parents support, and soon, the rest of them feared the same fate also.

But in that moment, every single Ranger associated with Zordon converged on Jayden...his father, and his aunts and uncles.

"You're still doing a great job, and doing everything we ask of you," Katherine Scott said. "It's not easy having to fight a sister, especially with what you've gone through having to live up to the standard she set."

"It's awesome that you had a sister you could look up to; not every one of us had that privilege," Justin said. "I was orphaned at a young age. Andros lost his sister to Dark Specter at a young age too. Not everyone had what you had at least in your early years. Be grateful for what you had. We'll get her back."

"I swear when this is all over, if Mom survives and we get her back I'm going to chew her ass out for pitting Lauren against me," Jayden said. "This reinforces every fear I've ever had."

"We're gonna get Lauren back for you, Jay," Tommy said. "We just need the right moment and it will happen."

"I have a question for you," Jayden whispered, so that only his father could hear him, "On my journey I saw the confrontation that you had with Mom in the Youth Center near the end of your evil Green Ranger days. Were you ever forced to face Mom one on one at any point?"

"No, fortunately not," Tommy answered. "I will say we all are very fortunate that Rita did not give me the orders to strangle Kim right there because she had me under such tight control that if she would have ordered it, I would have done it."

"I nearly obliterated the Rangers with the Dragonzord that day, which wasn't fun," Tommy added. That gave Jayden a sudden epiphany.

"That reminds me," Jayden said. "Aunt Hayley, Rhiannon, please make damn sure that the Red Lion Samurai Zord can be used only be remote. We need the Lion Zord on our side."

"On it," Hayley said. After a few moments she hugged Jayden and said, "We're good. Lauren can't access the Lion Zord."

Jayden breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to Mentor Ji.

"Ji," Jayden said, hugging his mentor next, "you did the right thing. I told you that I feared it could happen. I just wish I could have been there to stop it but it was the middle of the night."

"Yeah, there was nothing you could have done," Ji said. "I hate this. Our family is going to be torn apart by this feud."

"Yeah, but unfortunately, there's nothing we can do," Jayden said. "It's going to happen, it's inevitable. I'm telling all of you who may face her, don't mistake Lauren's kindness for weakness. She is not to be underestimated just because she's a girl."

"Understood," Trey said. He was getting better thanks to the medical treatment he'd been receiving and would be able to join the Rangers in the next fight.

Which was good, because they'd need all the help they could get.

 **Wednesday, October 3, 2012**

 **2:30 p.m**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

As Jayden hustled into the main room while the sirens blared, signaling an attack, he thanked his lucky stars that he'd been so proactive the second he found out about Lauren going to the dark side.

This was still going to be bad, but at least the Samurai team could form some of the Megazords. If Lauren had been able to control Red Lion while on the side of evil, it would have been disastrous.

Still, he knew it was going to be bad. And he was right.

It was a full frontal attack, and not just in the usual places either.

Angel Grove, Reefside, and Panorama City were being attacked as usual, but also several cities around the United States such as Miami, Dallas, Texas, Kansas City, Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego were also under attack.

And then, Jayden gulped. One of the generals leading the attack, on Angel Grove, was his sister Lauren. If the intent was to hit Jayden right in the feels, she'd done it successfully.

"They're trying to spread our forces thin aren't they?" Jayden heard Zack say.

"I think they're targeting me," Jayden said. "They're trying to get me isolated. Unfortunately, if I and we don't spring this trap, millions of people are going to die."

"And they're hitting places that have meaning to us," Billy said. "Tommy grew up in Phoenix before he moved here. Kimberly trained in Miami and Chad and Kelsey lived there. I was born in Kansas City and lived there till I was five. Aisha was born in Dallas, Rocky was born in San Diego."

"I'm just surprised they haven't hit South Korea yet," Adam added.

"Don't give them any ideas," Tanya hissed.

"We better get out there," Jayden said. "I have but one request. I'll personally go with the Ninjetti teams to Angel Grove."

"That's falling right in their trap, Jayden," Mia protested.

"On that, you're right, Mia," Jayden said. "Unfortunately until this whole thing is settled, I'm going to have to give them what they want. This whole thing with Lauren, as much as we love each other, has been eating at me for years. This is a personal deal, and this is unfortunately how it's going to have to end."

"And I still need to keep watch over Aunt Kat, to make sure Flammia herself doesn't try anything. If I'm there she has to fight me to get to Kat," Jayden added. "Which means that plays into my hands too."

Mia accepted that answer, even though she didn't like it.

"Let's get out there guys," Jayden said. "It's Morphin Time."

"Crimson Ranger Power," Jayden said.

"White Ranger Power," Tommy said.

"Black Ranger Power," Adam said.

"Blue Ranger Power," Billy said.

"Yellow Ranger Power," Aisha said.

"Red Ranger Power," Rocky said.

"Silver Ranger Power," Zack said.

"Orange Ranger Power," Kat said.

"Purple Ranger Power," Tanya said.

"Navy Ranger Power," Trini said.

"Green Ranger Power," Jason said.

"Triforian Ranger Power," Trey said, morphing into the Gold Zeo Ranger. He was really pumped up to be back in the fight after everything that happened to his planet.

"Let's Rocket."

"Lightspeed Rescue."

"Titanium Power."

"Time for Time Force."

"Quantum Power."

"Wild Access."

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Dino Thunder Power Up, Ha."

"White Ranger Dino Power."

"Magical Source, Mystic Force."

"Overdrive, Accelerate."

"Jungle Beast, Spirits Unleashed."

"Go, go Samurai."

"Samurai, gold power."

The morphs complete, they all teleported to the various destinations.

Rhiannon sighed and watched them go. She couldn't shake the bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Mentor Ji hugged her and prayed right along with her that the Rangers would survive the attack, but he too had a bad feeling in his gut about the fight to come.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	16. 16: Captured Crimson

A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, the dark clouds continue to roll in for our heroes. It's Jayden vs Lauren, Round I. I'm guessing you may not like the result. This chapter will primarily focus on Jayden vs Lauren, the rest of the battles will be touched on in the next chapter.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 16: Captured Crimson

 **Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012**

 **2:40 p.m. local time**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Lauren Shiba, the true and now former leader of the Samurai Power Rangers, laughed at how easy this was as she and her new associates continued to rampage through downtown, terrorizing citizens wherever they went.

She laughed because if she'd have known how easy this was, she'd have gone to the dark side a long time ago. No longer were there any rules to keep her from her full potential. No shackles. Just do whatever you like, whenever you like.

Not to mention, her jealousy of her little brother was on full display. She was bitterly jealous; he'd stolen the spotlight that was meant for her all along.

Most importantly, she wanted to make him suffer. He talked a big game when hiding behind those fancy new Ninjetti powers of his but she recalled it wasn't that long ago when Fiera had left him a battered, dirty mess.

That was when SHE had come back to clean up his failure. No, she hadn't destroyed, or sealed, Xandred but that wasn't her fault. And she'd saved her brother from Fiera. As soon as she got done torturing her brother, she was going to do the same to the rest of his friends.

He was good, no doubt, anyone who could humiliate Flammia's army like he'd done so far was no joke. But she also knew that he was impulsive, and would never turn this challenge down. And when she got him in her grasp, she was going to have fun torturing him and make him wish for his death.

In the meanwhile, destroying things was not only easy, and brought her a lot of pleasure but it was so much fun.

As she prepared to raze another building, however (and it would have been about the fourth building she'd have destroyed), her fun came to a screeching halt as twelve different streaks of light (eleven of them Ninjetti) hit the ground in front of her, knocking her and those with her off their feet.

A moment later, two fireballs went whizzing by her head, just missing her.

"That's enough, dear sister," Jayden said as he stepped in front of Lauren with his aunts, uncles and father flanking him.

"Well, if it isn't my dear sweet brother, the "leader" of the Samurai team," Lauren said, sarcasm dripping off her. She was being flanked by Scorpina, of course. Also with her was a shark monster that looked a little like the deceased Squalus, and also this time Lieutenant Jorus, who scowled when he saw Trey.

"You will pay for escaping my grasp, Gold Ranger. It's too bad your buddy isn't with you so I could make him pay too," Jorus said; he was still in a foul mood because Trey had escaped Triforia along with the Phantom Ranger.

"I don't need him to destroy you," Trey said.

"And you," Jayden said pointing to the shark monster and a group of Landers. "You were dead, Squalus."

"Good guess, Crimson Ranger, but I'm not him. I am Pistrix, his second in command. I am just as deadly as my boss was. Someday, you'll see that for yourself."

"This talk bores me," Lauren said; she pointed at the Rangers and ordered, "Take them to the cleaners. I want the faux leader. He's mine."

Immediately, the rest of the Rangers and villains engaged in combat, leaving both Lauren and Jayden facing each other.

"Faux leader, huh? You know that's not true, sister," Jayden said.

"Of course it is, Jayden," Lauren said. "Why do you think I had to clean up your mess? You know I've always been better than you. Question is, do you have the guts to face me alone?"

"You know, Lauren, I hate to give you what you want, but it's come to this," Jayden said. "This has to be settled somehow."

"That's probably the last time I'll ever agree with you on anything," Lauren said. "You're right this does have to get settled. But do you really think you have what it takes? You know you were never the real leader of our team in the first place."

Jayden gulped as he fully realized that he was up against his worst nightmare.

Could he make the grade? Could he live up to the standard that his sister and his adopted parents had set forth?

All those days of training in the Shiba house, practicing his first Kanji symbols, learning how to use his powers, were coming to a head. He'd even faced Lauren a few times, just on the mats, but never with this sort of significance.

"You're good, we all know that, but you ask yourself can you make the grade," Lauren said. "We'll see because I know I have that ability in spades."

"By the way, one last thing, Jayden, I didn't appreciate you denying me access to Red Lion," Lauren said, her voice turning a small shade of nasty. "You know that's my...OUR...personal Zord."

"But then, I guess I shouldn't be surprised seeing as you've shunned the people who made you and traded them in for these guys in what's going to be a fruitless fight for you," Lauren said.

Jayden blew out a deep breath. He was disappointed that Lauren had gone there, but not surprised. He could guess that when you were evil, the truth got twisted in a way that benefited them. He remembered that's how it was with Kevin during the fight with Madimot.

He didn't have time to worry about that now though; he had business to take care of. It was go time.

"Dragon Dagger," he summoned as a small, black dagger appeared in his right hand. "Your move, Lauren."

"Nice choice dear brother. My turn," Lauren said. "Spin Sword."

Both circled each other carefully, even as bystanders watched with intrigue. Finally, Lauren lashed at Jayden and the fight was on.

From the very beginning, there was little difference between them. Every punch, kick, etc was followed up by an effective counter-punch. Jayden was faring well but it was evident his sister was just as good; she was still a wily, intelligent Ranger who knew the ins and outs of what she could do.

After 10 minutes of trading equal blows with her brother, Lauren decided to up the ante.

"Spin Sword, Blazing Strike," she called as the attack careened towards Jayden. Jayden saw it coming though and pushed forth his own Dragon Dagger attack, and the two fought for control.

Unfortunately for Jayden, the Flame of Destruction's power had given Lauren's abilities a bit of a boost. The Phoenix Ninjetti powers would normally get a slight edge over the Samurai powers in this scenario, but with Lauren's increase in power level, the two attacks canceled out, causing a massive explosion.

"Damn," Jayden muttered, and he looked around the battle field and saw his aunts, uncles and father were faring somewhat OK against the various footsoldiers. If he could hold on just a little longer...

He hoped this next attack would work, if for no other reason to buy himself some time.

"Phoenix Wings, Wind Attack," Jayden called as his wings extended from his back and began flapping, creating a powerful gust of wind which headed towards Lauren.

"Oh no you don't. Symbol power, resist," she called as a shield appeared in front of her, blocking Jayden's attack and not only that, sending it back at him and sending him crashing into a wall.

"Damn," Jayden said as he got up sore from his own attack that was thrown back at him, finally remembering how the resist symbol saved him from Madimot, although he wondered a bit if the then-dormant Phoenix had something to do with that too. "Forgot about that one."

He didn't have time to breathe either as Lauren was right back on top of him and he barely had time to parry her attack, but he did manage to knee her in the abdomen, causing her to stumble back a few steps.

"Fire Smasher," Lauren called as her Spin Sword suddenly transformed into her zanbato weapon.

"That's the way you want it huh? OK. Dragon Dagger, recall," Jayden said. "Phoenix Fire Sword."

Instantly, the weapon formerly known as the Sword of Light forms in Jayden's hand, and he prepared for Lauren's attack.

For a while, the two crossed blades, evenly matched once again. Jayden was getting frustrated though, as he was getting nowhere with his attacks and Lauren after a while took advantage of his frustration, nailing him with the Fire Smasher after his frustration left him open to an attack.

Jayden had barely been able to force himself up before the next attack.

"Five Disc Beetle Cannon," Lauren called, then released her attack. Jayden tried to move but wasn't fast enough as a fiery explosion sent him crashing back to the ground, and his body ached all over.

Before he could get back up, he felt himself being pinned to the ground by Lauren.

"I admit, you pushed me hard, Jayden, and you are definitely got better since you put on that new uniform but I'm still the winner," Lauren said. "Now before I take you as my prisoner, I'm going to have a little fun with you."

But it was at that moment that four blue blasts came raining down on Lauren, knocking her off her feet, and giving Jayden room to breathe.

Jayden then breathed a sigh of relief as Ninjor came down off his cloud.

"Thanks, Blue," Jayden said.

"No problem, Jayden. That must have been really hard for you to do," Ninjor said. "Go help your father and your uncles. I'll handle Lauren."

"Thanks, and you have no idea how right you are," Jayden said as he rushed off to help his father, who was getting tossed on his ass by Pistrix, while Lauren and Ninjor circled each other.

"You interrupted my private time with Jayden, Ninjor," Lauren admonished.

"And if I hadn't, things were going to get really ugly," Ninjor said. "Unfortunately, for now you are the enemy and you will be dealt with accordingly."

"We'll see about that, old man. Jayden's hiding behind your ass and his father's ass and you know it," Lauren said as she and Ninjor engaged in single combat.

Meanwhile, Jayden, heading toward where his father was, could see he was in trouble, and wouldn't be able to avoid the landshark attack in time which left him no choice.

"Phoenix Wings, activate," Jayden said, causing his wings to unfurl again. "Deploy missiles, and aim for the shark fin."

Before the attack could reach Tommy, the missiles ignited and nailed Pistrix, throwing him violently from the ground, as Jayden pulled his wings back in and flipped over the monster, landing next to his father.

"You look pretty beat up," Tommy said, noticing his son was flagging a little thanks to the beating Lauren had administered. "You OK?"

"I'm good enough. Ninjor is keeping Lauren busy, at least I hope he will," Jayden responded. "Let's get us another fish for Antonio to make for dinner."

"You're going to pay for that attack, fledgling," Pistrix growled.

"Yeah and you're just like your master was, all talk," Jayden said. "Let's take him, Dad."

Indeed, with the added muscle of the Phoenix, Pistrix soon found himself in trouble and knew he was beat if he didn't get reinforcements. Finally, Tommy slashed Pistrix with Saba, and it seemed Pistrix was near his end. To make matters worse, the other Rangers had joined their nephew and his father, as Scorpina and Jorus regrouped around their comrade.

Jayden couldn't figure out why they were just standing there, unmoving, not retreating. But he was going to take it nonetheless.

"Phoenix Fire Cannon," Jayden called, as the massive crimson cannon appeared in his hand and he aimed it right at Pistrix, intent on destroying Squalus' second in command. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying attention to what was going on elsewhere.

Ninjor tried to shout that a sneak attack was coming, but Jayden couldn't hear him as he was trying to power up the cannon and before he realized what was going on, it was far too late.

Right as he was about to fire the cannon, he felt a prick in his arm, and felt himself go weak. He was able to fire the cannon, but the shot sailed harmlessly high into the sky, exploding after a few seconds.

After that, he fell limp to the ground, and was carried away roughly from behind by Lauren. The Rangers tried to stop Lauren but were suddenly knocked off their feet by Pistrix, Scorpina and Jorus.

"Say goodbye to your precious Phoenix, Rangers," Lauren giggled. "I may give him back to you one day, but trust me, he'll never be the same."

Tommy forced himself up and made one last dash to rescue Jayden, but the villains disappeared right as he got there, and Tommy crashed to the ground hard.

Tommy screamed to the heavens in despair as the rest of his teammates converged around him, them all hoping this was not the last time they would see the Crimson Ranger again.

The melancholy mood immediately turned to worry as they saw Ninjor, a battered, beaten mess across the battle field and went to tend to him.

"You look pretty bad, Ninjor," Billy said. "Are you going to be OK?"

"I'll be fine. She beat me good though. I tried to shout the warning that Lauren was coming up behind Jayden but it was no use," Ninjor said.

"We better get everyone out of here," Tommy said. "All Rangers retreat to the Chamber of Command, now. We've got an emergency."

 **The Lunar Palace**

For about a month, there had been nothing but frowns and sullen faces in the Lunar Palace. Ever since they'd arrived here, arguably the greatest conquerors there had ever been had been embarrassed, humiliated by a young fledgling that no one thought existed.

Now, Flammia and those in her palace smiled and cheered; her newest prisoner, that very fledgling, was dragged in, bound by feet and hands and getting battered every step of the way.

"We got him, Mistress," the Red Samurai Ranger said as she saluted her new boss. "It took me knocking him out with the needle, but we got him."

"Well done, my Red Ranger," Flammia hissed. "You are already proving to be an asset. You and Scorpina, hold him up and drag him over here. The rest of you, take your leave."

As soon as Flammia was within arm's length of her newest enemy, she scowled gleefully.

Jayden, who'd come to, tried to act brave, but truth be told, for the first time in his life, he was truly petrified. Even more so than any of the fights with Xandred. He had concerns at times during those fights, but nothing like this.

In that moment, he didn't see his mother. He felt like he was looking at the Angel of Death.

"So you're the mighty Phoenix, huh?" Flammia snapped. "The so-called savior of the world. You don't look so mighty to me."

That said, she slapped him across the face, hard.

"You humiliated me twice, boy, but you're gonna learn your place. A fledgling like you could never beat me."

That said, she took the bow she'd acquired on Onyx many years ago when she was under Dark Specter's serviice, and slashed him across the face with it, at the same time that Scorpina slashed him across the face with her stinger. What happened after that astounded her.

Blood should have been all over his face, instead, both marks began healing quickly, and the only thing left were a pair of scars across both cheeks.

"Impossible," Flammia hissed. "You have healing powers?"

"To an extent. It won't protect me from certain things but it does protect and heal me from most magical attacks," Jayden snapped. "You're gonna respect me before this is all over."

That said, he spat in Flammia's face in defiance. If he was going down, he was going down his way. Besides, she'd started it with that slap across the face.

"Speaking of respect, you just showed me a complete lack of it. And you earned yourself a lifetime of beatings with that loogie. Starting, now," Flammia said as she reared back and punched Jayden as hard as she could. The force of it knocked him out cold.

"Take him to the dungeon and make sure he's shackled good," Flammia said.

"You don't want to kill him now?" Scorpina said.

"No, he doesn't deserve that dignity. I'm going to torture him until he screams for us to put him out of his misery, in so many ways. Now GO."

As Jayden was dragged into the dungeon, hands and feet shackled, one lone figure, who held a room not far from said dungeon, watched in the shadows. No one even thought this being was alive, but a certain event five years prior had reversed his destruction and given him a second chance for redemption.

And he promised himself that one day, he would capitalize on that chance.

That day was now at hand.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	17. 17: Tortured

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday morning to you all from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter, things get really nasty for our heroes. Both Jayden's friends and Jayden himself are in for a whole lot of torture starting in this chapter. Also, some of the other battles not touched on in 16 are touched on here.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Hope this chapter goes well. There was a bit of an issue posting it then I didn't get the email alert. So I took this chapter down and put it back up. Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 17: Tortured

 **Wednesday, October 3**

 **4:45 p.m. local time**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Unlike a month ago, when Jayden's return from his quest had sparked unbridled celebration, if one could look inside the Rangers' Chamber of Command, he could have sworn a funeral was taking place.

Nobody dared speak, lest he or she say something that could tear this group of Rangers apart, and there were enough tears flowing from the eyes of the inhabitants to give life to the desert outside.

They all tried to muster that same rah-rah speech that every team had been through when a team of Rangers was down in the dumps, but they all knew that it was a load of crap. Without the leader of this mission, they were screwed.

They cried, they all did. But the teams who had bookended the legacy of Rangers, to this point, were taking it the hardest, as expected.

As hard as it hit the Morphin, Zeo and first Turbo teams, the Samurai Rangers were hurt the worst...and they weren't even there when Jayden was captured, but Cole, again thanks to his lingering abilities from his Deker days, had shown them what happened.

They had not only lost their spiritual leader, but had been stabbed in the heart by their current leader. Now, one was captured, and one was going to be on a mission to rip their hearts out.

The early teams all cried their eyes out too; Tommy was obviously hurt the worst, but they were all taking it really hard. They'd all barely gotten to know Jayden, but he was a resilient son of a gun who had been through a lot just to get to this point.

He was a likable kid, too, who was fighting an uphill battle in a seemingly impossible quest, and now they all knew he was never going to be the same when he got back. They all knew that wherever he was taken, and none of them doubted it was the dreaded Moon Palace, he was going to get the crap beaten out of him just because of who he was.

Someone who dared defy a great conqueror in the never ending quest to keep his people safe.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Justin were furiously working at the controls with Rhiannon, furiously trying to get a lock on Jayden's signal.

"Any luck?" Billy said as he left the somber, heartbroken group of Rangers congregated close together and joined his fellow Blues (and now Black Dino Thunder Ranger).

"It's no use. The barrier around the Lunar Palace is just as strong as ever," Ethan sadly said. "It would take me days to even think about a way to break through that barrier."

"If the Falcon and Crane were together, and Jayden were captured, then they could both use their powers to track him. Unfortunately, that is not the case," Justin added.

"Man, I wish there was something we could do!" Rocky said as he pounded his fist into his hand. He knew he was going to have it terrible the next indefinite number of days with Mia as one of his students; he was going to have to keep her from going off the rails, and looking at her now, that was going to be a huge challenge.

"Unfortunately, the best we can do is regroup and prepare for the next battle," Mentor Ji said, and Rhiannon nodded. "Jayden is now facing his greatest challenge yet. Only one thing can save him now."

"What's that?" Jen asked, although she knew what the answer was.

"His faith in himself," Mentor Ji said. All of them looked at each other and knew it was true. Jayden had come through the Island of Illusions, which was no picnic.

Now, in real time, his faith would be tested to its limits. And he'd need just a little bit of help from a most unexpected source...

"In the meantime, I'd suggest we all get some rest," Conner said. "We're all going to need it because the next fight, when it comes, is going to be ugly. Really ugly."

"Before everyone leaves, I want to check on all of you, just to make sure everyone doesn't have any issues after the battles out there," Dana Mitchell-Grayson said. "Everyone report to the med bay for checkup immediately. And I mean everyone. Oh and that goes double for Jayden if and when he returns."

 **Later that night**

 **The Moon Palace, lower dungeon**

Though the fire of the Phoenix continued to protect him, Jayden's teeth were chattering like crazy. This place was one of the coldest places he'd ever been in.

Not only that, his body hurt all over. The torture he'd endured on the way to the dungeon was akin to something out of a horror movie.

He still couldn't get the visions out of his mind. It was already bad enough hours in, and it was going to get a hell of a lot worse.

 **Flashback, earlier in the evening**

 **He tried to stay on his feet, but the torture he'd already endured was making it very difficult to do anything correctly physically.**

 **And every time he stumbled, he'd get either lashed (hard) thanks to a whip that Lauren carried, smacked across the face by the Fire Smasher, or hurt again by Scorpina's stinger.**

 **And all the methods hurt.**

 **Just then, he went down on one knee again. Sure enough, the whip came down on him again, causing his back to become even more bruised.**

 **"Get up punk!" Scorpina shouted as she shoved him forward. "Not so tough now, are you? Not so tough now that you're without your powers, right?"**

 **It was true, not only had they captured Jayden, Flammia had taken his morpher too. Where she'd put it he knew not, but he knew when it came time to finding his morpher, if he made it that far, it was going to be in a place that was very difficult to get to.**

 **That had been the entire journey for however many levels it was down to the dungeon, Jayden lost count after about the 20th time he'd been whipped. He'd also had every one of his clothes ripped off, and his naked body continued to be tortured after that.**

 **As hard as it was to be shackled, he guessed he'd have preferred it over the abuse he'd taken on the way to the dungeon. He still hurt, but he knew he would be healed, good as new. Unfortunately, he knew that was also going to be his curse during the dark time ahead.**

 **End Flashback**

Even though the visions finally ended, the nightmares were far from over, as he heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

Jayden gulped as the door swung open, and he saw his sister walk out of the shadows. Worse yet, his sister's swagger was evident. She was up to something, too.

"Hello, dear brother," she said saucily. The contempt in her voice, though the voice was sweet, was evident.

"Didn't you get enough of torturing me today?" Jayden said; he was surprised she was back so quick. "At least, wait until tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately for you, my darling brother, once I got a little taste of what being evil is like, it's like...what do you say, a drug?" Lauren said.

"By the way, how do you like having your girlfriend's parents and her entire team turn against you? Against us?" Lauren added. "Admit it, you're the cause of all the dissension within the Samurai team and it's only going to get worse."

"You know as much as I do that I don't always follow the rules, Lauren," Jayden said. "You know that I've always been a little bit of a maverick and I got that from Daddy Doctor Oliver. I don't take too kindly to things I'm supposed to do and not do. I do things my way."

"You are truly like Dr. Oliver, defiant to the end. Well then, if that's so, you can have it your way...and I'll have it mine," Lauren said.

Jayden could only wonder, what did that mean? He was about to find out.

"Now, Jayden, we can do things the easy way or we can do them the hard way," Lauren said.

"Before you even ask the question, I'll tell you what the easy way is," Lauren said. "You are going to give me and my boss the coordinates to that new base of yours."

Jayden gasped. He knew without doubt that he couldn't do that. If he did that, he and the Rangers were doomed.

"I think you know the answer to that, Lauren," Jayden said. "You and that new boss of yours are not getting jack. Even if I knew the coordinates which I don't, I would never give them to you."

"Hard way it is then," Lauren said, smirking as she did so.

"And the hard way?" Jayden asked. He knew he wasn't going to like this answer either.

"More of the same. We're going to have so much fun with you. How do you like the sound of facing at least 100 monsters in an arena here on the Moon?" Lauren said. "You against at least 100 of Rita, Zedd and Mondo's creations, all hungry for Ranger blood."

Jayden's head dropped. At any less than 100 percent, without his Morpher, he knew he didn't stand a chance against those odds, no matter how powerful the Phoenix powers were.

"Or, if you don't like that, maybe I'll just take you for my own. I could use a play toy," Lauren suggested. "Don't think I can't do it."

"You wouldn't," Jayden challenged. "Not even while evil, you wouldn't stoop that low. Besides, you know I love Mia."

"Oh, your Samurai Pink teammate?" Lauren said. "I can certainly shapeshift to make myself more appealing to you. It's part of symbol power, after all."

She turned to leave, but spared him a look back.

"Oh and one more thing, Jayden, if you have even one funny thought to try to escape that cell, don't. You won't like the result. Have fun," Lauren said, before walking off.

Neither Lauren nor Jayden had any idea that a lone figure was watching them from the shadows.

As he watched the threats Lauren had made, the entity knew without doubt he was going to have to move the time table for his plan up. The thought that an evil Lauren would even think to do that to Jayden made him cringe. He knew Lauren wasn't acting of her own accord, but it didn't make things any more right.

The thought of Jayden facing about 100 monsters out for blood, many of whom the entity knew from back in the day, didn't appeal to him either.

After he quickly used his nearby Synthetron to get Jayden some food (because heaven knows he'd need it, at least one night of food would be huge) and writing him a note, without anyone noticing, he ducked into a secret passage that only he knew by heart. That would at least start to take him to where he needed to go.

And he'd need to move quickly. He'd also need to make sure no one saw him. If anyone saw him and found out who he was all that he hoped to accomplish would be lost.

 **Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, very early in the morning**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

It might have been 24 hours later, but the Rangers' moods weren't a whole lot better, and they knew they wouldn't be unless Jayden somehow got himself free.

That said, they had to go on with their lives. So, after breakfast in the mess hall, they were all going to congregate in the main room for debriefing on the various battles that were held the previous day. Dr. Oliver was holding several CDs provided to him, which included footage of the various battles that took place.

Most of the Rangers had yet to come in, in fact the only two in the room right now were Tommy and Mia. And the silence between the two was really, really awkward.

None of them really knew what to say at the moment, fearful of it lighting a fuse and an argument. That was not something the team needed right now...it needed to stay together, even without its heart and soul...and leader.

Finally, the ice was broken when Tommy, at least surprisingly enough to Mia, went up to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

To be frank about it, both were surprised for different reasons.

"I'm sorry," Tommy told Mia bluntly, "I made a mistake yesterday. You should have been able to fight alongside Jayden."

"No, I understand why we had to do what we had to do, as much as it hurts. If they didn't spread our forces out so much, I'd be a lot angrier with you," Mia said. "Jayden is still my boyfriend, but he's Ninjetti now and I'm not. That does matter."

"Yes it does, sadly, yes it does," Tommy said. "And just because Jayden holds the Great Power now doesn't mean he isn't part of your team. You guys helped make him into who he is today and I am forever grateful."

"Yeah and now I fear that when he comes back he'll never be the same. If he does come back at all," Mia said as a tear escaped her eye.

"He's resilient, but I'd be a liar if I didn't say I was concerned too. He's going to get the crap beat out of him for sure," Tommy said. "Kim's not herself right now, not even close, and Maligore's power burns pretty bright right now. She's going to unleash the hounds of hell on him most likely."

"Getting on past that though, I have to apologize to you too," Mia said, and Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"For what? You've got nothing to apologize for," Tommy said.

"I should have consulted you as Jayden's dad before I said I loved him," Mia said. Tommy only laughed at this.

"Water under the bridge, Mia, you forget Kim and I were in love as teens and that's how Jayden was born," Tommy said. "At least the both of you are thoughtful about your actions. That's why the Samuraizers picked your families; the Power doesn't pick its holders by accident."

"And to boot, your uncle is Sensei Kanoi, who mentored a team of Rangers himself," Rhiannon added. "I trust anyone related to Kanoi to make correct decisions."

"When we get him back, I expect a tearful moment from you two though," Tommy said.

"If we get him back," Mia said, amending his statement. Tommy wished Mia hadn't said it like that but it was true; it was a dicey proposition that Jayden would come back at all.

"I can tell you that through our connection, I've talked to him. His spirit is willing, but his body has already taken a beating. It's not totally hopeless, but I'd say that without a minor miracle things do not look good," Tommy said. "He definitely will be a changed man when he gets back. Whether that's good or not, I don't know."

Just then, everyone else came in the room, right as Mia and Tommy were embracing. In a way, even though the situation was dire, that lifted the tension somewhat. Everyone in the room knew Jayden loved Mia to death, but no one knew what Tommy thought of Mia being in love with his son, and his son loving her back.

The thought that the three would at least be united if they got Jayden back warmed their hearts, even for a minute, right before Tommy got into the grim news.

"Thank you all for coming in, at least briefly. I know we all have jobs, but before we go to them, I think we at least need to meet as a team in this situation," Tommy said.

"As we know, our leader of this mission is not here with us this morning," Jason added. "The last thing Kat, Tommy or I want to hear is anybody blaming anybody right now. We are a team and we stick together as one. That is our greatest strength. Without our unity we will fall."

"Jase is right," Kat added. "United, we have a chance. But if we turn on each other now, that's exactly what they'd want. And as a unit, Jayden needs all of us right now."

"We do have potentially one advantage, one that could be our only hope. Jayden actually got fed last night from what he told me through our connection. Apparently we have someone who is looking out for us, someone who swore Jayden to secrecy," Tommy said. "Jayden said that this entity left him a note because this entity had to go do something important."

"So what you're saying is, we have a chance," Andros said.

"Not a great one, but still a chance," Jen added.

"That's exactly right," Tommy said. "At this point, we cannot risk ourselves going up into the mouth of the lion's den, even for Jayden. We have to keep our heads up and go about our business."

"That said, I have a handful of CDs that detail some of the battles. I'll go one by one, saving the older teams for last," Tommy said, as he worked backwards, starting with the Samurai team.

The highlights of that battle were then shown to all. It was obvious the Samurai team had improved. They'd trained with Jayden over the last number of weeks since he'd come back, and the improvement was obvious. They were more crisp, a lot quicker, a lot smarter in their tactics and didn't look like they were outclassed unlike the first time. They were facing Draco again too, as well as others, and held their own.

"Good job, guys," Tommy said. "One thing I want you guys to remember though is, don't feel like there's any added pressure with Jayden gone for the moment. Your toughest challenge is going to be doing what you're expected to do while your, and our, leader is gone."

"You're not the overall leader?" Mike said. "I mean, you're Dr. Thomas Oliver for heaven's sake."

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm not THE leader for this mission. I'll play a role of mentor, but Jayden is the overall leader. And he's your overall leader too," Tommy reminded them.

Tommy then stopped the film, removed it, and inserted film of Jungle Fury's battle.

Those who watched his facial expressions knew he was impressed with how Jungle Fury handled their fight. His comments reflected that.

"Good job as usual guys. Doing what you guys always do. As usual, the most centered team of the recent teams because of your powers. There are several other teams that could take a cue," Tommy said.

He then popped in the tape of the Mystic Force and Operation Overdrive, who had fought together, and frowned. Unlike some of the other recent teams, they weren't as crisp, they had a difficult time holding their own against their adversaries, and looked slow and sluggish at times.

"You guys are trying too hard for differing reasons," Tommy said. "Overdrives, I know the Sentinel Knight's death was hard on you guys. It was hard on all of us. But you guys need to find a way to channel your energy a bit better."

"Mack was the best of you guys, although that's probably because he's an android. You guys need to get a lot better. Watch Jungle Fury's fights. They can help you a lot."

He then turned to Mystic Force, and his gaze squarely fell on Nick, in particular.

"You look pressured too, Nick," Tommy said.

"I just feel sad that someone else has to go through what I went through when the Master was around. I was the target every day because of who I was, and I would wish it on no one," Nick said.

"You'd trade places with Jayden in a heartbeat, for his safety," Tommy said.

"Any day," Nick said, as he felt Maddy squeeze his shoulder. "I used to think I had it bad."

"Bowen, we can't think like that," Udonna stepped in. "It is affecting not just you, but the rest of the team. The team takes its cues from you, remember? The thought is nice, but we need to be concerned about our own house before looking at others."

"Udonna is correct, Nick. Focus on your own team. The issues with Jayden will take care of themselves," Tommy said, although even he wasn't sure he believed what he was saying.

He next put on the tape of Dino Thunder and Ninja Storm, who had also fought together; unlike some of the previous teams, he knew that Dino Thunder would understand what was expected of them and act accordingly. As he watched the tape, he was not disappointed.

"Good job, guys," Tommy said. "Justin, you're doing a great job with that team as you've finally gotten the opportunity you've long waited for. Keep doing what you guys are doing."

Justin and the rest of the Dino Thunders nodded their thanks as Tommy moved to Ninja Storm.

"Good job you guys," Tommy said as he watched the tape. "Your continued training has continually made you sharp. Tori, Hunter, you should probably get ready to take Michaela to school."

"Yes sir," Tori said as she and Hunter walked off to do just that.

Tommy then put on the tape of Wild Force, and nodded at them too, but looked at Cole in particular.

"I'm impressed with what you guys have been doing out there, Cole," Tommy said. "Of all those who are coming into this battle fighting demons, you have done the best job of all handling them. Just keep it going and don't make yourself feel any pressure."

"Admittedly, Alyssa's to thank for that," Cole said. "She won't let me slip into one of those guilt complexes. And it's one of those things that just happens anyways."

"Before you go to Wes, Jen, and Eric, I do have something I'd like to share," Cole said. "Some information if you will."

Tommy arched an eyebrow and said, "Go ahead."

"I can vouch for what Jayden said. We do have certain...allies out there, including in the Palace itself who you may not expect that are watching out for us. I met one of them not long after Jayden defeated Xandred. I suspect that certain one of them is watching over Jayden right now."

"Who is it?" Tommy said.

"If only I could tell you. He wishes to stay off the radar as long as he can and swore me to secrecy on his identity. He will reveal his identity to us at the right time. But he can absolutely be trusted and has our best interests at heart," Cole said as he sat down.

"Thank you for the information, Cole," Tommy said; admittedly, what "The Rookie" had said had put Tommy's mind at ease a bit.

He next put on the video of Wes, Jen and Eric, who had fought with Lightspeed to even the numbers a bit. Otherwise, Wes, Jen and Eric would have been hopelessly outnumbered.

"Time Force, good job as usual despite Eric's always terrible antics," Tommy said, which earned him a glare from Eric himself. "Lightspeed, good job as well. Sometimes, with as long as some of the teams have been off, there's some rust to knock off but you guys have done a good job keeping in shape. Keep it up."

"Thanks, Tommy," Carter Grayson said, as Tommy then turned to his closest band of brothers.

Zordon's Rangers.

Before he addressed the rest of the Ninjetti, now down to ten, he put the tape on of the Space Rangers' fight.

"I know what's on your mind, Andros, the safety of your sister. Take care not to worry about that too much. Flammia's pretty preoccupied with Jayden so I doubt she'll come after Karone. As long as you guys are together and Mike the Magna Defender is here," he said nodding to Mike, "she should be OK."

"Yes, but I don't want history to repeat itself, as you Earthlings say," Andros said. "I can't help but have that on my mind. If we had the Galaxy Rangers back here, I'd feel a lot better."

"We'll get them back," Tommy said, finally turning to the rest of the Ninjetti and Ninjor.

"I don't think any tape needs to be put on of what happened out there today. We got humbled today," Tommy said. "We were all there, we saw it. Unfortunately, we all knew this was going to happen at some point. Flammia didn't conquer so many planets for no reason."

"Our success now depends on how we rally as one in light of this dark day. Let's face it, there is no substitute for the Phoenix and its awesome powers. But we have a job to do, no matter how awful the odds are right now."

"Even if the odds do get worse, and they likely will as long as Jayden is not here, we need to hold on to the belief that everything will work out. It always has."

"Kat, I know that of all people in this room, you have it the worst as far as demons to slay," Tommy said, looking sympathetically at his second ex-girlfriend. "I think you and I both know that things are going to be very rough over the next number of days and maybe even weeks."

It was true. Another added bonus for Flammia was that with the Phoenix captured, she had free license to take her revenge on Kat; it would in turn help Maligore regain full control, which had begun to crack.

"Just do your best, OK? No one's expecting you to go toe to toe with that monster, but do the best you can. Know that we'll always be here to support you," Tommy said.

"That's it. You're all dismissed. Go on with your day, I have a school day to get ready for," Tommy said as everyone dispersed from the room and he prepared to teleport back to Reefside and prepare for the school day.

They all hoped they could get through the day without their leader. But they all, including Tommy most of all, knew that it wouldn't be the same.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	18. 18: Keep Me Hanging On

A/N: A very pleasant Wednesday morning to you all from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This particular chapter, Jayden's fate continues to hang in the air while his rescuer searches for a particular item that could change the tide of battle. Meanwhile, the Rangers try to make do without their leader. By the way, this chapter also contains Kim vs Kat.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Chapter title named after the famous song by one Diana Ross. Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 18: Keep Me Hanging On

 **Thursday, October 4, 2012**

 **The Moon Palace**

"Agh, Lauren, stop it!" Jayden screamed in pain as his body sizzled with electricity. Lauren, fully morphed, had already hit him with Lightning Fury for a fourth time in about the last 60 minutes.

He knew it was going to be bad, but he had no idea how bad.

Lauren and her boss had proven right from the go that they had endless ways to torture Jayden.

The torture chair they'd used on him was positively brutal; chair covered in spikes, him shackled to said chair. They'd done that for about two hours too.

The Phoenix spirit could heal just about any injury, but even what he'd gone through was making the Phoenix work very hard to heal Jayden's injuries.

It was also Jayden's curse too because every time his wounds got healed somewhat, Lauren, Flammia or someone else could do it all over again.

Being on the wrong end of Lightning Fury, an attack he once employed, wasn't too pleasant either. She'd already hit him with it several times, and each time, it hurt worse than the previous one.

"I'd stop this, but the problem is, it's quite a lot of fun. Believe me, Jayden, the rush of power I get from being on this side of the fight is more than enough to keep me here," Lauren said. "Besides, I can do much worse if you want me to go to another method."

"Oh yeah?" Jayden said defiantly. "What could possibly be worse than what you and Scorpina have done to me all morning?"

"Glad you asked, because I was informed last night that my boss has some even more wicked ways of torture. Some blasts from the past if you will." Lauren said as she nodded at Scorpina. Scorpina disappeared from sight momentarily, but Jayden's relief was short lived. His heart sunk like a rock as a large machine was wheeled in, with Scorpina and Draco pushing it along.

"If this looks familiar it should," Lauren said, smirking as she did so. Her next statement confirmed what he remembered this machine to be.. "This is the machine that nearly took my boss' alter ego's life. You know, almost killed your mother before your father had to intervene."

"You wouldn't dare use that on me," Jayden said, in disbelief that Lauren would actually go that low.

"Oh but I could, and I will if I have to," Lauren said. "If you get too mouthy I may just have to turn this machine on to finish the job it started on your mother. Perhaps, when I go out and whip the Rangers' tails in the next fight, that will take all the fight out of you and I can hook you up to that machine."

That shut Jayden up quickly; for him, there was truly no way out. Not unless help came back, and soon. And it wasn't a guarantee that Lauren wouldn't use the machine on him anyways.

"And just think, if nothing else, I can still take you for my own," Lauren said. "I can have you hollering and screaming with ecstasy all night long."

"See you for some more fun later, dear brother," Lauren said, blowing him a kiss as she left the cell with her fellow soldiers and closed the door behind it.

Jayden looked at the machine that once held his mother captive, and just looking at it sent shivers up and down his spine. He knew the urgency of the situation, so he pulled out a small communication device his alleged rescuer had given him before said rescuer left. Instantly, he put it to his lips.

"J to R, come in," Jayden said.

 **"I read you, dude. What's going on?"**

"Whatever you're trying to get done, you need to do it and get back here fast! Flammia's army still has the life force extractor Zedd used on my mother," Jayden said.

 **"Damn,"** came the response. **"I knew they had that in the Palace because I live there, but I didn't think they'd actually threaten to use it on you. It hasn't been active since Sis and Ed used it on Kimberly that one time."**

"Yeah and not only that, Lauren's threatened to force herself on me if all else fails, and she says there's going to be a battle where she and her goons are allegedly going to kick our tails," Jayden said.

 **"Yeah they may kick your tails, but they'll never destroy a set of Zords like I did,"** came the response. **"Thanks for reversing the fate of the Firebird and Tigerzords also, dude. Doesn't make me feel so bad."**

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Jayden said.

 **"Listen Jayden, it may seem hopeless, but there are things you can do to buy yourself some time, and keep yourself alive,"** the voice said. **"Here's what I suggest you do..."**

Jayden listened to the suggestions given to him. The plan outlined to him didn't sound like a bad idea, but he knew he could only play the card once and if it didn't work, he certainly wouldn't get another chance. And if he was caught, then Lauren probably would try to force herself on him.

 **"Remember, Jayden, Rangers never give up. They never gave up when I fought them, and nor should you. It's never hopeless until the last bit of hope is gone. Have faith in yourself,"** the voice said. **"Listen, I gotta go. They let me in, but I can't talk with you with what I'm about to do. See you in a while."**

"Good luck," Jayden said as the communication shut down. The plan seemed good but he needed something else.

And then he figured out what it was.

 **Friday, October 5, 2012, very early in the morning**

 **Ranger Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

They'd tried to hold it together for the last 24 hours or so, but without their leader it was truly a difficult time.

They'd all felt the brunt, but because Jayden was Ninjetti, the others who had been touched by the Great Power felt the worst of it...sans that one.

Every hit that Jayden took, the Ninjetti felt just a little bit more. The Wind Ninjas and even the Jungle Fury team, being teams connected by animal spirits, had felt it a little too.

Because of this, none of them knew how they'd made it through work the previous day.

In some ways, it truly did feel like a last stand. Without their leader. Without the Red Samurai Ranger...well, both of them anyways.

Even as hard as they tried, Flammia now seemed to have things under control, as most around the universe figured she'd do eventually. After all, they'd all seen their planets fall before this menace before and none of them thought Earth would be any different.

However, none of them knew that what Jayden's father was about to tell them was going to hit them very hard...but especially the immediate Ninjetti.

"I'm glad you all could make it, again before we have to go do our jobs," Tommy said. "I'm going to get straight to the point. We are in more trouble than we could ever imagine. I talked to Jayden last night. The situation is dire."

"Like we didn't know that already?" Blake said. "This isn't something we don't already know. He's going through torture, and we're going to have to fight without him."

"I wasn't finished," Tommy said, looking sternly at Blake. Clearly, he was disappointed Blake had interrupted him when he clearly wasn't finished. "If only it were that easy. The stakes have been significantly raised. First of all, Jayden is without his power coin, Flammia took it from him when he got captured. That leads me to my next point. We may be getting a case of deja vu all over again, Ninjetti."

"The life force extractor, the FIRST life force extractor, not the one Mesogog used, is back in play and Lauren threatened to use it on Jayden," Tommy said which sent shockwaves throughout all the Ninjetti, but particularly those who were there the first time.

It was doubly hard on Kat, since she was in on the plot when Kimberly almost lost her life. Now, she knew Kimberly's alter ego was gunning to end hers.

Most of the other Ranger teams looked at each other in confusion, so Aisha stepped forward.

"This is hard for any of us to talk about, and I'm going to torture Lauren for this if and when we get both her and Jayden back. Just the thought she might do this really makes me mad," Aisha said, her voice indicating she meant every word of what she said. "Back in the day, when Kat was under Rita's power and stole Kim's power coin, Rita and Zedd made Kat hook Kimberly up to a machine that would drain her powers. Because our life forces are tied to these powers, if our power is drained, we die."

"Even the mighty Phoenix could die from this?" Antonio said, his face turning pale. He knew that while Lauren had been his girlfriend, she was the enemy now and if and when they got her back, their relationship would not be the same.

"Even the mighty Phoenix could die from this, yes, Antonio," Tommy said. "Jayden also said they're going to attack us soon, and that Lauren is going to make him watch, to try to torture him while supposedly we get our heads kicked in."

"Bottom line is, Jayden's life may be at stake in this next battle. We have to give him hope," Jason said. "Remember, the more goons we kill, the more positive we all feel about it. That includes the Phoenix. Also, the more goons we kill, the more Maligore's control over Kimberly cracks."

"Even if we give him hope he can still be embarrassed," Tommy said. "He said one last thing. Lauren threatened to force herself on him...to go...there."

All the Samurai Rangers were aghast. They, and their predecessors knew the rules that Mentor Ji had laid out Day No. 1, namely, no fraternization.

"That means...even if Jayden comes back, if she goes that far, we could have no Red Ranger," Kevin gasped.

"What do you mean?" Tommy said, looking curiously at Kevin.

"Mentor Ji has taken our Samuraizers before for issues that were petty, including mine," Mike said. Mentor Ji nodded, knowing that he'd been too harsh on some members of the team early. "He told us Day 1 if there was any fraternization in the house, no powers. Only if it happened, he wouldn't give us our Samuraizers back. I can only imagine if Lauren forced herself on Jayden."

All Rangers present looked at each other with worry. There honestly was no form of torture that wouldn't affect Jayden, and possibly Lauren, for the rest of their lives. Jayden could be humiliated, seriously hurt, or possibly die while he was up there.

Or even all three.

"Ji, know this. This isn't the Shiba House anymore, and you don't run things around here. The rules you may have enforced in that house aren't the same as here. You best remember that it was because of a night 17 years ago that you even ended up with Jayden in the first place," Tommy said.

"If you even try to strip any of your Rangers of their powers for anything other than Zordon's three rules, you're going to regret it. You know that Lauren is under a spell and isn't herself," Rhiannon said, "I may sic Dulcea on you if you try anything. And she's not too happy with you either."

Ji gulped and knew there was no way out for him. The power he used to wield in the Shiba House wouldn't fly in Angel Grove.

"Now that that's taken care of, one last thing before we go about our day. Know this. I expect 100 percent effort always from every Ranger, but I expect you to be better than your best when we go out there next," Tommy said. "My son's life is at stake right now. You all think about that. All of you are dismissed."

As the various Ranger teams broke up for the day, they were all somber. The task before them was a tough one. Some might have said, the task was actually impossible even as great as the Power Rangers had been over the years.

They were all outnumbered without their leader, and the leader of the Samurai team, but they would have to soldier on through the pain. When the attack came, they were going to have to be ready.

They wouldn't have long to wait for their resiliency to be tested either.

 **Several Hours Later**

 **The Lunar Palace, in the dungeon**

So far, the day had been quiet. No torture, no life force extractor, nothing.

The only time he'd been visited, twice, he'd been fed tasteless gruel. He hated it, but it at least kept him from starving.

It was too quiet, in Jayden's mind.

Which could only mean something big was upcoming.

He couldn't be more right.

Jayden groaned as the doors of his chilly, dank cell swung open. In walked his sister, fully morphed in her scarlet colored Samurai suit, with even more of an arrogant walk than she usually had. The swagger she walked with almost certainly meant trouble.

"I'm disappointed, Jayden. I thought you'd be excited to see me," Lauren said, devilish smirk creasing her beautiful features.

"A few days ago that may have been true. At this point, you're an enemy in my way of my goal," Jayden said.

Lauren had to admit deep down, she was impressed. None of the defiance that he showed in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds had gone away.

It would make what was about to happen all the sweeter. What was about to happen was going to break his will for good. Then, she'd have him all to himself to do what she pleased.

"You still haven't lost your confidence, I see," Lauren said. "Maybe what I'm about to show you will change your mind though. Allow me to introduce one of my new tricks my boss gave me when I finally came to the darkness."

Lauren extended her right hand, and a makeshift screen shimmered to life on the wall of the dungeon.

The scene was Panorama City, and the five Samurai Rangers that were remaining were having all sorts of issues in their own fight. Clearly, without two of their team members, they were not the same team and though they were giving it their all, the battle was completely uphill.

"And the sad part is, if you hadn't gone off and joined that father of yours, we might all be together as one. Think about it...together," Lauren said. "But your big ego just had to run off and join forces with your dad."

"Oh and it gets better than that," Lauren said. "If that didn't break your will, then this almost certainly will do it. The picture shimmered to another scene.

Jayden's heart dropped. The Ninjetti and Space teams were having their own battles, but there was one in particular he'd hoped to avoid at all costs.

Flammia had successful managed to confront Katherine, one on one, away from everyone else. By Lauren's smirk, she was obviously counting on her boss delivering Katherine, and by extension the rest of the Rangers, another crippling blow.

If Jayden didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that Lauren had forgotten how resilient Power Rangers could be. The way she walked, talked and acted, it was all over and the conquest of the mighty Power Ranger line was a foregone conclusion.

It was time for Jayden to delve into the suggestions his new friend had given him. At this point, he had no other choice.

Reaching into his soul, he searched for any positive thoughts he could find that he could lend his Aunt Katherine's way. After all, positive thinking had pulled Ranger teams through a thousand times before. It was time for Lauren to be reminded, once again, that Power Rangers never walked alone.

 **Downtown Angel Grove, at that very moment**

She was hoping it wouldn't happen, but knew it was inevitable.

Truth be told, Katherine Scott tried to look cool, calm and collected. But she was a terrible liar. In truth, the butterflies in the pit of her stomach were swirling.

At the same time her nephew was fighting his demons, no doubt up on the Moon, now she was being forced to come face to face with hers.

Perhaps no Ranger in history had felt the brunt of more bad luck than Katherine Scott. She had the misfortune of following an absolute legend and even though she did a great job, many had still idolized the original Pink as kids.

That reality was staring Kat in the face at that very moment. But Kat could feel positive vibes coming, and even the person giving her those vibes wasn't 100 percent, she knew where it was coming from.

"I see you traded colors, Katherine," Flammia hissed at her. "Orange looks good on you, which is actually saying something."

"I see you changed colors too," Kat snapped back. "The all too familiar black."

"Yeah. Like I said in 1997, pink is out. I admit you've done a lot of good since we last met," Flammia retorted. "You changed colors, got the Great Power and married my big brother, but that still doesn't mean you won't take an ass kicking. And when I'm finished with you, Tommy boy will be next."

"If you think I'm some patsy like I was in the 1990s you are sadly mistaken. You would make a big mistake to take me lightly. I've learned a lot since that point," Kat said.

"Then prove it," Flammia said. "Maligore Fire Bow."

Instantly, a sleek archer's bow appeared in Flammia's hands. Kat nodded, she wasn't surprised.

For most, a bow and arrow would have been cumbersome and a burden. But as Kat knew, a bow and arrow for Kimberly Hart was like second nature.

"Orange Panther Cannon, sword mode," Kat called. Instantly, an orange colored, smaller version of the Power Cannon appeared, but in a form that was more suitable for fighting. "Your move."

But from the word go, the fight didn't quite go as most pundits would have thought. As the two exchanged blows at a fast and furious rate, Flammia realized Kat had been right. No matter what Flammia tried to do to intimidate her, Kat wasn't having it.

Kat didn't have the advantage, of course, but she wasn't getting pummeled either.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, Kat ducked a punch aimed for her head, and before Flammia could recover, Kat whip-kicked her in the face, sending her crashing to the ground.

Immediately, Kat switched her sword mode back to cannon mode. If she knew Kim like she thought she did, she knew what was coming next.

"That does it. You're good, Orange Ranger, and you've proven to be a worthy opponent. Problem is, I don't have time to play around with you," Flammia said as she readied several of her arrows, all laced with fire.

For a brief moment, Kat let the time slow down, took a deep breath, and imagined that no one else was around, just she and her opponent. In slow motion, she could see Flammia let fly an arrow, then another, then another. But she was ready.

"Cannon mode, full power," Kat called. Instantly, she pulled the trigger, and a massive orange laser beam shot forth from the cannon and clashed with the fire of Kimberly's attack. Both strained forward, using their minds to try to put more power into their attacks.

But Kat had the Great Power, and the power of the Phoenix, on her side. With one last rush of concentration, her orange laser beam swallowed Flammia's attack whole, shot towards her, and nailed her full on, causing a fiery explosion in the process.

Before she could think to do anything else, she heard a scream, "Kat, look out!"

She didn't see the attack coming until it was too late. Vipera, who had come down with Flammia and Scorpina, had attacked her when she wasn't looking, wrapping her tail tightly around Kat's waist, pinning her arms to her side. In the next moment, Kat felt her body go on fire as electricity seared from Vipera's tail into Kat, causing her to scream in pain.

Jason stopped the attack and severed Vipera's tail from Kat, but the damage was done.

Kat was still morphed but the attack had taken a lot out of her. Her armor had been singed badly in some places from that attack and she was nearly unconscious.

"Rhiannon. Get her out of here and back to the Command Chamber," Jason called.

Meanwhile, Vipera and Scorpina knelt over their boss, who the Orange Ranger had actually managed to injure to the point where there wouldn't be any attacks for at least a few days.

When they'd come down here with her to see Flammia take her revenge against the Orange Ranger, they had no clue how much better and how much more mature Katherine Scott had become over the years.

It was clear they'd messed with the wrong Ranger, even though Vipera had got a shot in against her. Crossing the Orange Ranger had been a bad mistake.

"Hope you like your infirmary Rangers, because from what I gather from the rest of the attacks, you're going to be in there just as long as we are," Scorpina said. "Until next time, Rangers."

 **The Lunar Palace, lower dungeon**

As soon as those images faded away, Jayden breathed a sigh of relief.

He was all by himself again at this point; his sister's swagger had given way to shock and concern at what happened to her boss. The second Kat had injured Flammia, Lauren had left post haste.

Clearly, what Kat had done to Flammia was just as unexpected to Lauren as everyone else under Maligore's command.

Not only that, the Samurai Rangers, even short handed, had destroyed three different generals in their fight. The Space Rangers had destroyed two, the Ninjetti team three, and all other teams had gotten at least one. They had been beat up, sure, and no doubt they'd be in the infirmary for a while, but it had been worth it. There was hope.

Kat had dented Flammia's armor, had embarrassed Maligore when the whole universe expected her to be embarrassed. He knew now more than ever that if he got free, he could do the same.

Even better was he'd found a way to get free from his shackles. He wasn't going to use it yet, he was going to wait for the right time to do it, but he now had a plan of attack to not just get free of his unenviable position, but if he was lucky, he might just be able to get to his morpher as well. He'd have to play his cards right, but he had a plan of attack.

The problem now was, his teammates were beat up and sore; he could feel it. He recalled an attack than Pistrix had landed on Antonio in Panorama City and knew there was no way Antonio wasn't severely hurt. He likely had some busted ribs, would likely be out at least two to three weeks.

That was probably the worst of the injuries sustained, which made the Rangers extremely lucky.

From the various fights Lauren had shown him, he knew the other teams had their own injuries to deal with, such as concussions (Kat for example), and burns as high as second degree, which had been suffered by various members of the Space, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder and Operation Overdrive teams.

The infirmary back home was likely overflowing right now, so he knew he'd need to execute the plan of attack soon.

But for now, his teammates, and would be rescuer, had kept him hanging on.

"Good job, Kat. Rest well, and get better from that concussion and any other injuries you have," Jayden said as his body fell into a relaxing sleep...as relaxing as there could be in his predicament.

For now, there was still hope for the world.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	19. 19: Jayden in the Lion's Den Pt I

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This particular chapter, Jayden is led like a lamb to his alleged slaughter in an arena full of monsters, but as this chapter will show, even in the mouth of hell, he is not without help.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 19: Jayden in the Lion's Den Pt I

 **Saturday, October 6, 2012, in the wee hours of the morning**

 **Lunar Palace, The Lower Dungeon**

The first things that hit Jayden right in the face when he first came to out of his slumber were a couple of varying smells, one very noxious but one very fresh and warming.

The noxious smell was smoke, and it was coming from his cell. After a quick cursory glance, it didn't take long to figure out what it was.

The life force extractor...you know, the one that had been resuscitated by Flammia, Lauren and others and had Jayden's name written all over it was nothing but smoking ruins.

The other smell was five feet in front of him.

It was coming from a tray.

No way, Jayden thought.

It couldn't be food could it? Actually good food, not that awful gruel he'd had that had simply kept him alive?

Carefully he'd opened up the tray. Not only was it not gruel, it was all sorts of good food. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, some rolls, and lots and lots of water.

One of his favorites.

Then, he saw a note. He figured he'd better read it, whoever had taken the time to do this must really care about him. His eyes widened as he read every word.

 _Jayden,_

 _It's me, Mom. Yeah, your real Mom. If you're reading this, I'm sure you're asking. Am I back to who I once was?_

 _Kind of yes, and kind of no. Maligore still has a hold on me, even though it was was weakened by your friends and our family, but his hold is weakened, so I have a conscience for a short amount of time. Only a few hours at most, but it's enough._

 _In the short time I have, I had to make the most use of it. I wanted so badly to get your Morpher back to you, but I thought it was more important that you at least have your strength back. Those horrible monsters really did a number on you._

 _First of all, I destroyed that awful life force extractor which is probably why it smells like smoke in there. You won't have to worry about that anymore._

 _You need to eat this meal. Every bit of it. You need your strength to be ready for what is to come._

 _What's going to happen is they're going to take you to an arena, here on the moon, full of monsters. It truly is the lion's den, although I think you'll agree with me it's more palatable than Lauren trying to force herself on you. I will use my influence to make sure that does not happen._

 _I can almost assure that she'll bring your Morpher with you. She'll dare you to try and get through that pack of lions to get your powers back._

 _As such, you need to regain your strength. You'll need every bit of it._

 _By the way, I am very impressed with your friends. You have the greatest friends in the world. They grew and nurtured you into the man you are today. The man that I know will eventually lead the Power Rangers to victory._

 _PS - Tell your Aunt Kat I still love her like a sister no matter what. I couldn't have picked a better replacement and she proved it today._

 _Good luck, and as your deceased Uncle Zordon would say, May the Power protect you._

 _Love,_

 _Mom_

Jayden had tears in his eyes.

Even in his darkest hour, when he was about to go into a den with a wild pack of lions ready to chew him up and spit him out, his mother was still doing everything she could.

He had a plan too. Now he had the means to regain his strength and put it on the fast track. He didn't have to be told twice to eat, he was more hungry than Rocky and needed food and drink.

The food was good too. Damn good. It was one of the best meals he had anywhere in quite some time; Reefside, Chamber of Command, Shiba House, anywhere.

As he ate, he could feel the strength coming back to his body and felt the Phoenix go into a much more normal routine of healing his body.

There was one last thing he had to do, and as such, he put his communicator to his lips.

"J to R, come in," he said.

 _"Jay, dude, what's up? You hanging OK?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine. Took all the punishment they could dish but I'm still here. Thanks to my friends, and Mom. You still need to get back here, but the life force extractor isn't a factor anymore."

 _"Oh, thank God. That machine is horrible,"_ the other man said. _"Arena, then?"_

"Yeah. You still have my pendant I got from Uncle David?"

 _"Right in my hand. I got what I needed too. With what I got, your sister won't be in their clutches much longer."_

"Please, just hurry back, man. Time's running out," Jayden said.

 _"We're fine, Rangers always come through."_

"I know. I probably better cut this off. See ya later," Jayden said.

 _"Right. Check you soon, man."_

As the transmission ended, Jayden sighed in satisfaction.

One thing was for sure. When Flammia came back to get him to drag him to slaughter, she was going to get a nasty surprise.

Let them think they have it won, Jayden thought. He had other plans.

 **Several Hours Later**

It felt good to be the Phoenix, and it felt good to be free. Kind of.

He wasn't all the way free, but he was a step closer.

He could hear the clanking, clattering of feet approaching the cell and knew his captors were coming to lead him to the slaughter. To the arena, where past monsters waited like ravenous dogs to end his dream.

But fate, and DNA were smiling upon him.

The first was fate. The cell he was in was chilly and the colder it got, the easier it was to snap his bonds. And he'd done so easily.

The second was DNA. The second he'd acquired the Phoenix Ninjetti morpher, he'd obtained the use of one of his father's old weapons from his Dino Gem.

Invisibility. It allowed him to hide, wherever he wanted, without anyone knowing where he was. The second he'd freed himself, he'd focused and activated that power.

Now all he needed to do was wait.

Standing in the shadows, he waited, crouched in position, as he saw the cell door swing open. All the big players were there, Lauren, Draco, Scorpina, Vipera, etc. except Flammia herself who was still recovering from what Kat did to her.

"Jayden, dear brother," the sing-song voice of his sister called. "I really wish this didn't have to end today, I wanted to have so much fun in bed with you. But by my Mistress decree..."

He suddenly saw Lauren stop short, eyes wide with shock, seeing Jayden was not there.

"Scorpina, come here," Lauren barked.

"What in the hell..." Scorpina muttered. "Draco, activate the alarm. We have a Crimson Ranger on the loose."

None of them saw a crimson blur come flying into the picture from out of nowhere and slam Lauren against the wall hard. Scorpina got a snap kick to the chin, and Draco felt his legs go out from under him as Jayden shimmered into view. Jayden then wasted no time in tossing all of them out of the cell into the hallway.

"Thought you had me, huh?" Jayden hissed as he looked as his opponents, who were just getting back to his feet. "It's gonna take a lot more than that."

"How in the world..." Lauren said. "You should be DEAD or close to it."

"I'm disappointed, Lauren. You know me better than anyone and you should know better than to underestimate me," Jayden said. Just then, he felt a shimmering in his own hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

His pendant, his necklace given to him by Uncle David, had been returned.

It helped on two fronts. First, it indicated that his rescuer was either here or would be here soon. He just needed to stall for a little time.

And he knew how that necklace could help him do it. He remembered, shortly after his 17th birthday, about what this special necklace could do, as it was told to him by the late Samuel Trueheart.

The words flashed over and over again in his mind.

 **'Any time this necklace is in your hand, you have the ability to call on any of the first six powers of the sacred animals your mother, your father and their team possessed if you need them, including your mother's. This can be wielded with or without a power coin, young Phoenix.'**

He knew just what he had to do.

The thing was, he couldn't do it for very long, especially without his Power Coin. All he could do was stall for time. He'd have to demorph after a couple minutes but any time he could use up would be worth it.

"Play time's over dear sister. You too, Scorpina," Jayden said as he put his necklace back on

'Thank you, Rito,' he silently said.

"NINJA RANGER POWER! THE CRANE!" Jayden called. Instantly, the pink Ninjetti robes washed over him. It may have been the first time in history a male Ranger had ever worn a pink uniform.

"Impossible!" Scorpina shrieked. "Those powers don't exist anymore!"

"To those who possess the Great Power, Scorpina, anything is possible," Jayden said. "Now come on!"

"You want to play rough, you got it dear brother," Lauren said, as she pulled out her own Morpher. "Samuraizer. Go go Samurai."

Once Lauren morphed, she lashed out at Jayden and the fight was on. But he could see that Lauren was angry and frustrated, and could use that to his advantage. He sidestepped the attack, grabbed Lauren and hip tossed her into the hallway, just outside the entrance to the dungeon.

Scorpina tried to unleash her boomerang on Jayden, but a pink beam from Jayden's hands rebuffed the attack, sending Scorpina flying into the wall.

He knew then that was the extent of him being able to hold that morph, and quickly demorphed to save himself. Now, he was going to have to do his best without any sort of powers until he could get his Morpher (which was, he didn't doubt, somewhere in that arena) back.

He saw Lauren coming at him again, and just barely ducked the Spin Sword attack aimed for his head. A moment later and Lauren may have literally chopped his head off.

He gave it his best but the odds were too much, especially without his powers. The fight had drawn a commotion and soon he was outnumbered. He then felt himself being tied up, with Scorpina holding that rope as tight as she could, making sure he couldn't escape.

"Drag him to the arena!" Draco shouted. They did exactly that, dragging him through halls and beating him up frequently along the way.

"You may have escaped the torture of our cell, but what awaits you in that arena is hell on Earth for you, Phoenix Ranger!" Draco roared.

"I can't wait to see your demise, finally," Scorpina said. "You're nothing but a little gnat in our sides and what's coming up will prove that."

"You know, I thought you'd lose your confidence when we put you through that torture, but somehow or another you've regained your strength," Lauren said. "However, what's coming up next should make you very afraid."

"I'm not afraid to go against the odds," Jayden said. "If anyone should be afraid it's you and your new boss."

The talk unnerved Lauren a little bit, she had to admit. What in the world could he be talking about?

"Regardless, you are going to die today," Lauren said. "I am sad that it must come to this because there are things I've wanted to do with you, but orders from the boss dictate that you are going to die. Brutally."

The words were intimidating but Jayden knew he just had to let it be.

He'd done all he could to stall for time, but it was now or never.

'Come on, Rito,' he thought.

Little did he know that Rito had just arrived and seen the scuffle. Now he watched from the shadows, and making sure he stayed out of sight as much as possible, he closely followed Jayden towards the arena, waiting for his chance to strike just like he did when he destroyed the Thunder Zords all those years ago.

Meanwhile, Jayden was roughly thrown into the arena, causing a stir, and was quickly untied.

He shook himself awake and took stock of the situation. The odds were definitely not in his favor.

And at the far end of the arena, he saw it. His precious Morpher, encased on a pedestal in swirling crimson energy.

He definitely had his work cut out for him.

In the arena, these 200 or so monsters who were comprised from different eras of the Power Rangers spectrum (about 40 percent of them alone were from what was colloquially known as the Zordon era) were given the indication that they were going to have the opportunity to take some revenge.

But they didn't see Tommy, Kimberly (duh, she was evil now), or any of the Zordon era Rangers or any Rangers that mattered to them. So who the hell was this guy?

"That guy doesn't look very impressive," Pirantishead said to Robogoat and Stag Beetle as a commotion ensued.

"Keep on your guard," Stag Beetle said. "I have a funny feeling about this guy. He may be tougher than he looks."

"Oh please," Maronda, from the Lost Galaxy era, said. "I've handled Red Rangers before. That guy isn't even morphed!"

Suddenly, up on the top part of the circular arena, Flammia, clearly still not 100 percent from her encounter with Katherine, walked into view which drew raucous cheers from the gathered monsters.

"I promised you a major name today, and I'm not going to disappoint you, monsters of the past," Flammia said. "I didn't deliver you Dr. Oliver, or any of his friends, but you have the next best thing."

"Feast your eyes on the Phoenix Ninjetti, the son of the Falcon and Crane themselves. Also known as the former Red Samurai Ranger too...the first one. The only one that has kept me from my conquest of Earth so far," Flammia said. "Destroy this Ranger...and victory is ours."

That elicited cheers from everyone in the arena. All they had to do was kill this guy? That wasn't going to take more than five minutes!

Guys...he's all yours," Flammia said as she disappeared from sight.

The monsters prepared to charge their foe...except they suddenly didn't see him.

Jayden had taken the momentary distraction that Flammia had caused with her little spiel and activated his invisibility power once again.

"Watch out, he could be anywhere," Lauren Shiba said as she entered the arena, full view. "He did this on us earlier with a successful sneak attack."

For several minutes, no one could see him. Slowly, carefully, he crept towards the pedestal where his Morpher was. Because no one could see him, no one could attack him.

He was almost there, when his luck suddenly ran out.

"Nimrod, the pedestal, now! He's almost there!" Translucitor, from the Turbo era, said frantically. It made Lauren jump in shock too; Jayden was outnumbered muscle wise, but he'd out thought his opponents once again.

Unfortunately for Jayden, because Translucitor has the power of invisibility as well, he can see what others cannot. And as Jayden got closer and closer to his Morpher, the Power it attracted had got Translucitor's attention.

"Right," Nimrod said, as she charged her staff up without a moment's hesitation. Jayden had one hand on his Morpher until the blast struck him dead on, sending him flying 20 feet back and into view.

Unfortunately, 10 monsters, all from the Zedd and Rita era, were standing right where he landed back into view, and they were only too happy to gnaw on him like rabid dogs. They started kicking, punching and shoving him all while the rest of the monsters cheered and patted Translucitor on the back.

After one last kick from Fighting Flea sent Jayden crashing to the ground hard, with all those monsters, and those others watching, ready to finish him off as they stalked towards him.

"What should we do with him once he's finished?" Peckster said. "Do we keep him alive or not?"

"Mistress said to kill him, but I'm not so sure. He can be very valuable to us," Miss Chief said.

"That's very interesting, what do you have in mind?" Turbanshell said.

"Lauren had the right idea. I have a mind to make him fall in love with me. It would crush that Pink Samurai Ranger too."

"Me, fall in love with you? Ew, I'll pass on that," Jayden said.

"Maybe after I whip your ass you'll change your mind," Miss Chief smirked. As she was about to attack him with her shield weapon, suddenly, a huge explosion and a huge plume of smoke wafted through the arena. It was certainly a smoke bomb, but from who?

"No way," Jayden thought, but then he heard a voice.

"Jayden, dude I have your morpher. Here, catch!"

Sure enough, he saw the Phoenix Morpher coming his way and grabbed it without any effort at all.

"Thanks, Rito. Play time's over, Miss Chief and the rest of your minions. It's Morphin Time," Jayden said. "Crimson Ranger Power."

When the smoke finally cleared away to where everyone could see, Lauren and the rest of the monsters stood there in shock.

There was Jayden, fully morphed in his Ranger suit as if nothing had happened. What was worse, Rito, the human Rito not the idiot Rito, stood by his side.

"What's the plan?" Jayden whispered to Rito. "Do we try to get my sister back, destroy these guys, what?"

"As fun as it would be to see you destroy those morons, we have to book it. We have friends to rescue. If we rescue Lauren, fine but we have bigger fish to fry," Rito said. "I'll keep them busy. Go. I'll meet up with you soon."

Rito (who in his normal human form was actually a handsome, brown haired man who was a lot smarter than his alter ego) began to engage the monsters while Jayden made a break for the exit.

He was almost there when he suddenly stopped short. Of course. Lauren was blocking the way.

He was going to have to go through his sister, one more time.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	20. 20: Jayden in the Lion's Den Pt II

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter, Jayden attempts to earn his freedom, and tries to rescue some others.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 20: Jayden in the Lion's Den Pt II

 **Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, mid-morning**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

They had all gathered in the main room of the Chamber of Command, and not simply for an attack. So far, there was none.

They'd all gathered because, whether Ninjetti or not, they could all feel it.

A surge in power. They all hoped, but they dared not hope.

Rocky spoke for everyone when he said, "It can't be, could it? Could he have his Morpher back?"

"It's the only reason I can think of for the fact that we have a spike in power in all of us," Justin said.

"And if you need any confirmation, I've picked up a visual. I managed to break through the Palace's force field finally," Ethan said. "Look!"

They saw Jayden, fully morphed, standing across from Lauren again. They appeared to be near or in an arena, an arena that seemed very hostile.

"He's got his powers again," Tanya said. "The question is, how much does he have left in the tank?"

"When Xandred was here, he tried to go fight a Nighlok known as Yamiror who poisoned the Samurai team, including Jayden, with his stench," Ji answered. "I thought he could barely walk but he actually got out of bed and went to fight him at far less than 100 percent. No doubt in my mind in retrospect that his dormant powers kept him able to walk. I think he's got enough in the tank to at least give himself a chance."

Everyone in the Command Center said a silent prayer that he indeed would have enough left in the tank.

Just then, the alarm sounded.

They had been told that an attack wouldn't come for a long time after the last one, but Flammia obviously knew Jayden had escaped and was desperate to destroy the Rangers before he could enter the game again.

"We're short handed, but for those of us that can fight, we know what we need to do," Tommy said. "Let's do it."

 **The Lunar Palace, near an exit from the arena, same time**

"You know, I'm actually glad your little friend came for your rescue from the arena, Jayden," Lauren said. "Because it gives me the opportunity to humiliate you one more time. When I'm through with you this time, you will belong to me."

"You 'humiliated' me twice before because you got lucky," Jayden said. "I'm not taking anything away from your abilities, you are very good at what you do. But you and your boss have thrown everything at me, yet I'm still here."

Lauren hissed to herself in frustration. It was true, no matter what she'd done to try to break him hadn't worked. It was almost as if it didn't matter.

"Well, when I get through with you this time, I will have broken you both mentally and physically. Admit it, dear brother, you don't have much left."

Instantly, Lauren readied her Spin Sword, while Jayden just shrugged.

"Whatever I have left, I'm going to give it to keep my world safe," Jayden said. "Zeo V Power Sword."

Instantly, in a red flash, the weapon held by Tommy in his early days as a Red Ranger appeared, and Jayden prepared for what might well be his last stand.

As Lauren lashed out at Jayden, Jayden successfully managed to draw Lauren back into the halls away from the arena. There, the two expertly crossed blades, with neither giving an inch.

"Spin Sword, Blazing Strike," Lauren called, and she released her fiery attack. But she'd forgotten that Jayden's Phoenix element was fire as well, and as the attack neared Jayden a fiery shield appeared around him, the blast careening off the shield and blasting through the wall, leaving a smoking hole behind.

Before Lauren could even think what to do next, she saw a blast coming toward her from the Zeo Power Sword. But by the time she realized it, it was too late as the blast struck her head on and sent her flying back into the wall.

Jayden then saw someone come and pat him on the shoulder, and smiled when he saw it was Rito.

"You took care of them?" Jayden said.

"For the time being. I put a spell on the arena that froze them in place but we only have a few minutes."

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Jayden saw Lauren coming to, and preparing a sneak attack. When he turned around, he saw the Spin Sword coming for his head. Instinctively, he grabbed Lauren's right wrist, forcing her to let go of her weapon. The weapon flew out of her hand and skittered along the floor.

"Hold her," Rito ordered. "I need one good shot."

Jayden didn't miss the position Rito was in too, as Rito held a small laser gun, and he was down on one knee. With his free arm, Jayden wrapped it around Lauren's waist, to make sure she couldn't escape.

"Let go of me, Jayden," Lauren hissed.

"Sorry, Lauren, but this is for your...and our, own good," Jayden said, right as Rito fired his laser pistol, not at Lauren, but at the Samuraizer that was resting on Lauren's belt. The blast hit the Samuraizer head on, and there was an intensely bright flash of white light and a devastating screech filled the air.

Jayden could have sworn he heard a voice too as the white light forced him to cover his eyes.

 _'You may have freed your sister, Crimson Ranger, but your victory will be short lived! Maligore spawn of destruction WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!'_

Even as the white light died down, Jayden felt a little creeped out by what had just happened.

"If you feel creeped out, that blast was equipped with a special antidote that cancels out Maligore's mind control hold over Lauren. No doubt, the demon that held that power over Lauren wanted to intimidate us. Give her a little while and she'll be fine," Rito said. "Now let's go. We have to book it. They'll be coming through those doors any second!"

Rito picked Lauren up and began running down the various hallways, with Jayden following close behind. Jayden found it a little odd that the hallways were deserted. Which could only mean one thing. And if that was the case...

Sure enough, about two minutes later, the two heard voices from back near the arena. They really had to motor now.

Soon enough, they came to a set of double doors near one of the exits from the Palace to the Moon's surface. Rito tossed Jayden a key. Jayden could see what was outside. They only needed to go a little farther...

"Lock that sumbitch up when we go through," Rito ordered.

"Will that hold them?" Jayden asked.

"Not forever, but long enough," Rito said.

They all went through the double doors, with Jayden making sure to lock it as tight as he could.

They then rushed out the last Palace door. Before them stood what Rito was looking for all along.

"Is that..."

"Yes. The Dark Fortress Mark II," Rito said. "In there are the Lost Galaxy Rangers, the Masked Rider and Dimitria and the former Divatox. They all need to be rescued."

"Do you know where they are?" Jayden said.

"If this Dark Fortress is anything like the first one, then yes I have a pretty good idea," Rito said. "But just in case, I have this."

Rito whipped out a tracking scanner which had formerly been in Finster's lab during his days in the Palace.

"This can pick up any traces of magical energy," Rito said. "Now let's go."

But before they could move an inch further, they saw a laser beam coming right at their heads, and they just ducked down and avoided being hit head on.

Jayden's eyes narrowed under his helmet. A warrior stepped out into view that was Scorpina's spitting image, but wasn't her. This had to be her daughter he'd heard about.

"Well, Crimson Ranger, at last we meet," Scorpina's daughter Nepa sneered. "It's a shame this meeting will be our last."

"Your mother couldn't defeat me, so why do you think you can?" Jayden responded.

"You would be a fool to think I am not as powerful as my mother is," Nepa said.

"And as for you," she said as she looked at Rito, "my mother would be very disappointed in you Rito. You turned your back on us and you've been spying on all of us, I'm sure."

"Yeah and she can keep that opinion to herself," Rito said. "I was never one of you. And yeah I have been spying on you. So what?"

"Fine," Nepa said as she spread her arms out, At her command, about 20 Tenga Warriors appeared.

"Attack!" Nepa said.

"I'll take the bird brains. You need to summon the Phoenix Zord and then go inside and get our friends. Hurry. Nepa's backup's gonna be here real soon," Rito said, as he slipped his tracking device to Jayden when Nepa wasn't looking. Jayden nodded as Rito engaged the purple colored birds.

"Phoenix Ninjazord, activate," Jayden said. Immediately, a portal opened near where the battle was going on, revealing the Phoenix Ninjazord.

Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Jayden carefully slipped inside the massive ship. Pressing some buttons, Jayden signaled the scanner to scan for any magical life forms on the ship, specifically ones that were grouped together.

Jayden nodded when the scan finished. The lower level. Of course. He found a stairwell nearby that started heading down towards the dungeon.

Carefully, he made his way down the levels of the ship, and he knew he was going the right way because the signal was getting bigger and bigger. But he also could see another, and much darker, signal in the room. So the ship hadn't been unguarded, after all.

He knew it was a trap, but he had no choice but to spring it.

He had to hurry too. He couldn't waste any more time.

A few minutes later, he finally reached the door. He didn't know what was behind it except a dungeon and people that needed to be rescued, but there was only one way to find out.

Channeling his fiery powers, he transformed himself into a fireball, passed right through the doors, and a shocked Stilio, who was guarding the room, didn't know what hit him until the fireball passed through him, sending him flying into the wall.

The prisoners stood to attention too, briefly drawn out of their catatonic state. The Galaxy Rangers and Masked Rider looked confused, but a smile formed on Dimitria and Diana's faces.

Help had finally arrived.

Stilio, meanwhile, glared at the intruder.

"You," he hissed. "I've been waiting to get my hands on you, young Phoenix."

"Yeah, that's what you've all said," Jayden retorted. "Meanwhile, you've got some folks here that aren't yours. Those prisoners you have are coming with me."

"We'll see about that," Stilio said as a battalion of deadly spiders appeared before their master.

"Arachnids, get him," Stilio ordered.

Though the number of Arachnids reached about 20 or 30, they stood no chance. Using a mix of his Phoenix Fire Sword, his ability to turn into a fireball and his fighting skills, he quickly disposed of the spider beasts within about five minutes. Stilio then tried to shoot a foamy web to catch him, but Jayden released two fireballs which incinerated the attack instantly.

In the next moment, he chopped his Phoenix Fire Sword down on Stilio's wrist forcing him to drop his sword, then super kicked him in the face which sent him flying into the wall.

"He's amazing," Maya from Mirinoi gasped. "Who in the hell is that?"

"Exactly," Masked Rider said. "I've never seen that guy before!"

Dimitria of Inquiris wanted to save her breath because of her weakened state, but simply said, "The prophecy of the Phoenix Ninjetti is finally coming to pass. Maligore's days are numbered."

"We'll fill you in later," Diana added. "Suffice to say, that boy right there is bad news for the forces of evil."

In the next few seconds, they saw the Phoenix Ninjetti casually walk over to the cell, form a small fireball in his hand and fry the lock that held the prisoners.

"Grab on to me," Jayden said. "We've got to get out of here and now."

As they all held on to each other, Jayden concentrated really hard, and just as Stilio arrived near the prisoners and tried to decapitate Jayden, he and the prisoners teleported out right as the sword came down.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted.

Arriving back on the surface of the Moon, just outside the ship, Jayden and the former prisoners landed on the surface right as Rito disarmed Nepa and kicked her right into the side of the ship.

Jayden's face fell though. He looked inside and saw the horde of arena monsters, with Scorpina leading them, kick down the door that Jayden had locked.

"Grab Lauren, get to your ship and let's go!" Jayden said to Rito as they both took off for the ship. Mustering the strength, the weakened prisoners grabbed onto each other and followed right behind Jayden, Rito and Lauren. They reached the Phoenix Ninjazord and Rito's ship fine, but they knew the crowd was gaining on them.

"Everyone, get inside!" Jayden said as he beckoned all of the former prisoners inside, while Rito got into his small ship with Lauren.

"Hang on. This is going to be a bumpy ride," Jayden said as he started the Phoenix Zord.

The monsters, as one, unleashed a devastating blast of firepower that would have obliterated anything it touched. The problem for them was, they were a split moment too late as Jayden and Rito flew out of range with their cargo.

Scorpina groaned, knowing she and her compatriots had blown it bigtime. There was one hope left. It was on Earth. If the Rangers won today, she knew she may not live to see another day even though she was Flammia's most trusted warrior.

Meanwhile, after a few minutes, Jayden relaxed a bit and put the Phoenix Ninjazord in autopilot as it zoomed towards Earth. He looked towards the back, and saw the prisoners. In particular, he took notice of the Lost Galaxy Rangers. They were in terrible shape, their formerly youthful looks ruined from years of captivity. Prince Dex looked pretty awful too and his Electro Saber had been shattered.

Carefully, Jayden looked at the long since broken, charred Quasar Sabers and Dex's Electro Saber, all of which he'd managed to grab when he'd freed the prisoners, and concentrated.

"Power of the Phoenix, grant these warriors the means to fight again," Jayden murmured.

Immediately the Sabers lit up, a bright light enveloped the Zord, and before anyone knew what happened, the Lost Galaxy Rangers and Masked Rider sat there, more energized than they'd been in years.

Not only that, they were fully morphed, their powers once again in tact.

"You have to be kidding me," Kendrix Morgan-Corbett said. "He just did THAT? We're back in the game?"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Kai Chen asked.

"You are back in the game," Diana said. "There are many things he can do that you don't know about."

Meanwhile, Jayden put his communicator to his lips.

"Dad, can you hear me?"

 _"Jayden, is that you? In the flesh?"_

The Lost Galaxy Rangers and Masked Rider looked at one another in surprise. Was that Tommy, and did he just call Tommy 'dad?'

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, not only did I and my friend escape but I have a whole cargo of prisoners. The Lost Galaxy Rangers, Dimitria, Diana and the Masked Rider. My friend has Lauren and she's free. I granted them their powers back but I don't want to put them back in a fight just yet."

 _"I'll call Rhiannon and have her teleport them in,"_ Tommy said. _"In the meantime, please hurry. Another attack was launched and we're getting killed out here!"_

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Jayden said. "Jayden out."

The Masked Rider and Lost Galaxy Rangers looked at each other again. Rhiannon, this guy had said.

If that was true, then that meant...

"Oh no..." Leo gasped.

"You guys are going to safety," Jayden said, looking at the backseat. "Get ready, you'll probably be teleported in a few minutes."

"Thank you so much for doing this for us...whoever you are," Maya said.

"Thanks. My name is Jayden, by the way, and before this is over, I am going to free your planet and every other planet held by this monster," Jayden said, a statement which confirmed all their fears, yet gave them hope.

In a few moments, bright lights filled the Phoenix Zord and all the former captives were teleported out.

A few moments later, Jayden pressed some buttons which would send out a coded message back to the Chamber. When that was done, he made contact with Rito's ship.

"Rito, dock your ship in the Phoenix Zord and it will take Lauren back to the Chamber. Go ahead and keep her there. Make sure she gets scanned for no traces of evil. Rhiannon is expecting your arrival," Jayden said. "Dad needs me back in Angel Grove. They launched an attack again."

 _"You got it dude,"_ Rito responded. _"As for the attack, how predictable. Go kick their butts, and kick them good."_

 **Downtown Angel Grove**

Meanwhile, Tommy hadn't been lying to his son.

The Rangers were taking a beating.

In desperation, Flammia had launched another attack. This had been the worst battle by far for the various Ranger teams. More Rangers had been injured in various places, and unfortunately for Kat, Flammia had come back down, so enraged by her defeat of sorts the other day that she wanted immediate revenge.

Now, the Ninja and Shogun Megazords were fighting Pistrix, who was still angry about the death of his boss, Squalus. And it wasn't going well.

The Shogun Megazord's occupants (the Shogun Zords had been revived when Jayden obtained the Phoenix Morpher) screamed when Pistrix clamped his sharp jaws on the Megazord's wrist, causing the Zord to explode in a shower of sparks.

None of the combatants saw the figure that landed in Angel Grove amidst the burning flames of carnage that littered downtown. And no one heard him play a familiar six note tune that would soon change the course of this battle.

Meanwhile, the Shogun Megazord's occupants were trying to get it back on its feet, but it was no use. It had taken so bad a beating that it didn't have the leverage.

"How bad is it, Billy?" Tommy asked.

"Shields are just about kaput," Billy groaned. "If he hits us again...you don't want to know. Worse yet, Jayden isn't here so we can't call the first Ninjazords."

Worse yet, Pistrix was standing over the Rangers triumphantly, about to deliver the deciding blow. And Flammia herself was keeping the other Ninjazords occupied far enough away they couldn't help.

"Brace for impact!" Rocky called as he saw Pistrix raise his sword. The Rangers all huddled, wondering if they really should say goodbyes.

Except the final blow never came, as a flurry of missiles came in from out of nowhere and struck the two villains head on, sending them crashing to the street.

Flammia gasped as she and Pistrix got back to their feet.

The Dragonzord.

It couldn't be...

Rangers and villains one and all turned to the massive machine once controlled by Tommy, now standing and roaring proudly over the two fallen villains.

"Jayden!" Tommy shouted. "Just in time, too!"

"That's right, I'm back," Jayden said. "Flammia, your fun is now over."

"How could you have POSSIBLY escaped my grasp, Crimson Ranger?" Flammia roared in disbelief. Inside of her though, the growing-ever-more-confident Kimberly Hart smiled.

"No matter how hard you try, you can't kill the Phoenix," Jayden said.

"Dad, guys, take those Zords back to the Command Center. You especially, Dad. The Shogun Zords are in no shape to fight."

"You heard him, Rangers, retreat," Tommy said. "Jayden, they're all yours."

The Rangers teleported out, leaving Jayden alone with Flammia and Pistrix. He knew he needed to end this fight quick though. He was running on empty and needed rest.

"I am going to ANNIHILATE you for defying me!" Flammia screamed as she and Pistrix charged Jayden without thinking. Bad mistake.

The moment they got close, Jayden had the Dragonzord levitate off the ground, and kick Flammia right to the ground. In the next instance, the Zord landed on the ground and via command from Jayden, the Zord's sharp drill tail began spinning. The tail whipped around and slammed right into Pistrix, and before Pistrix knew it, he had a gaping hole in his chest.

Pistrix knew he was finished, but wasn't one to go down without a fight. He recklessly charged the Zord again, which was his final mistake. Immediately, more missiles ignited, these missiles tinged with Phoenix fire thanks to a new command from Jayden that the Dragonzord never had.

"This can't be...NOOOOOO..." Pistrix wailed.

"Just like your Master, and your Mistress soon, you're dead. Goodbye Pistrix," Jayden said.

"My Mistress will destroy you all and make you WISH YOU NEVER HEARD OF ME!" Pistrix shouted. Those were his last words, before he was burnt to ash.

Flammia looked in disbelief at one of her most powerful warriors...destroyed like that.

"Crimson Ranger, you win this day, but some day I will destroy you," Flammia vowed. "All warriors, RETREAT, NOW. This fight is over."

With that command, not only Flammia, but all of her warriors, in various places, retreated to the Palace in defeat. With that, Jayden put his communicator to his lips.

"Power Rangers, victory is ours."

"Jayden, is that..." Mia said. Jayden chuckled, but was glad to hear her voice too. Of course it was Mia who had to speak first.

"Yes, it's me, Mia. I'm back although not 100 percent. Report back to the Chamber of Command immediately. Mystic Force, is Udonna with you?"

"I'm here, Jayden," Udonna said. "What do you need?"

"I need you to ask Rita to come to the Command Chamber. There's something she needs to see."

"I will summon her at once," Udonna said. "We will see you there."

 **The Lunar Palace**

To say that Flammia was exhausted, stressed out and flustered all at the same time was an understatement.

How could victory, once so sure, have escaped her grasp once again? Just a little while ago victory was in her hand.

And yet, here she was, having somehow lost again to that Crimson Ranger. At less than 100 percent too.

Worse than that, she no longer had her trump cards, and Lauren had been rescued too. She was plan on using her prisoners from Mirinoi, Edenoi and Inquiris as trump cards down the line, but that was now out of the question.

She had the most devastating army in the universe, and yet her confidence was slipping.

If she couldn't beat a battered, bruised Crimson Ranger who had to fight his sister, honestly, what hope did she really have?

Her army had wisely stayed away from her too. Any contact with her and anyone might be destroyed on the spot.

The only one brave enough to stand next to her in this time was Scorpina, Flammia's best friend, and even then Scorpina had tears in her eyes. She had the same forlorn look her boss, and friend, had.

And who's to say that Crimson Ranger didn't have more unsuspecting allies, either?

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Scorpina," Flammia said as they both cried into each other's arms. Surprisingly a bit to Scorpina, Flammia hadn't punished her; then again, Scorpina thought, she was Flammia's best friend.

"That was my best shot at it. We had him, yet he slipped through our fingers," Flammia said. "I feel so hopeless!"

"More than anything, you need to rest, Mistress, and so do I," Scorpina said.

"Yes, but if we rest then those bastard Rangers get healthy too!" Flammia said.

"It's the only way. We'll have to meet them at full strength. We can't beat them like this, we're too frazzled," Scorpina said.

Flammia had to admit, she was right about that. Flammia was in no condition to even think straight.

"I made a machine years ago designed after Zedd's regenerative device," Scorpina said. "The one he was going to use before Rita woke him up."

"Will it work?" Flammia said.

"Yes, Mistress. It will work for anyone. You need to rest to make sure the Flame takes pure hold once again," Scorpina said. "And to give us time to think of a plan to combat the Phoenix Ranger."

Flammia was sold.

She hated it, but knew it had to happen.

"Take me to the machine now, Scorpina," Flammia said.

"Crimson Ranger," Flammia said before she left to no one in particular as she faced Earth, "you win this day, but when I am fully healed and rested, I will be back and will wreak havoc on you like you have never seen before."

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks. In the next chapter, the reunions commence!**


	21. 21: Reunions and Reconciliations

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter may elicit a few tears. Reunions and reconciliations abound...but not the big one. Yet.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 21: Reunions and Reconciliations

 **Saturday, Oct. 6, about mid-day**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

If the mood in the Chamber of Command just a few days earlier was akin to a funeral (and it was), then the mood at the current moment was just the opposite.

The Power Rangers of Earth were battered, bruised, and hurt to the point that some would miss a significant amount of time.

Yet, none of them cared at the moment. Defeat had seemed certain, perhaps even final defeat, and yet the Phoenix Ranger had saved them all and in the process had dealt the Flame of Destruction a devastating defeat.

As soon as the Phoenix Ranger landed back in the Chamber of Command, he was dogpiled by his Samurai teammates like he'd just scored a dramatic goal to win the World Cup.

Zordon's Rangers were acting like a bunch of party animals too.

It was total bedlam.

Celebrations abounded and chants of "Jay, Jay, Jay!" bounced off the walls of the building. When he was captured, only the most ardent believer in his abilities thought he'd come back in one piece, much less be able to do the things he did.

Even his own father, Dr. Oliver, had expressed his own doubts. No one knew how sinister the Moon Palace could be better than Dr. Oliver himself.

Yet, against all odds, here was Jayden in the flesh. None of them could believe it.

And even more than that, he'd brought more bodies who could fight...that was, when they were able. Which would be a while, but this was huge.

"Guys, let...me...breathe..." Jayden said. Mike immediately gave him some air, and the others followed his lead.

"Mentor Ji is going to chastise me for saying this but...you magnificent bastard," Kevin said. "I can't believe you're back!"

"I can't believe I'm back either to be honest, though you're right, Ji would chastise you for using that language," Jayden said. "I should probably be in the infirmary right now with half the team, but I have business to do first."

He then whispered something to Ji, who whispered something to Kira. Immediately, Mrs. McKnight released her Ptera Scream which caused everyone to cover their ears.

"Good gracious, Kira!" Vida said. "Warn us next time when you're going to do that please!"

"Sorry but Jayden told me to do it," Kira said. "He said he has some business to take care of."

"The only business you have is with me in the infirmary with half the team," Dana said.

"Not so fast, Dana. I'll be there but there are things to do first," Jayden said.

Immediately, Dana huffed her dislike, but sat down anyways, knowing that as important as she was, the Phoenix was the leader.

Carter laughed at what just happened, only to receive a glare from Jayden as well.

"And what are you laughing at?" Jayden said.

"There's no way I can do what you just did!" Carter said. "When she gets her mind fixed on something she never shuts up! I always have to go along with her!"

"Well that's because I'm the Phoenix and you're not so I suggest you shut up," Jayden said.

Now it was the Pinks turn to share a laugh, at both Carter and how utterly brash Jayden was at this point. He was confident before, but surely not to this level.

It was lost on no one that Mia was laughing the loudest; this was the Jayden she fell in love with. Brash, daring, would do anything to help his teammates and the world. Not to mention a hot-headed Red had got put in his place.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted I have business to attend to. Important business, too," Jayden said. "Rita, are you here?"

Immediately, a shimmering white light filled the Chamber of Command, revealing the ancient sorceress, former Ranger archrival and ally to the Mystic Force team.

"I'm here young Phoenix," Rita said. "What do you need?"

"It's not what I need, it's what, or rather who, came back with me. You're about to meet, or rather, be re-acquainted with, the person who is in large part responsible for me being here today. Come on out," Jayden said.

Rita's face formed a confused look, until the person emerged from the shadows, and Rita's eyes went wide as saucers.

It couldn't be...

Before she knew it, now it was her turn to be tackled to the ground...by her very own brother.

"Rito..." she gasped. "But how? I thought I lost you for good in the Countdown..."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But dear old ugly Thrax's destruction reversed my fate. Zordon told me when I first came back to this world, told me in a dream that ending my life in his sacrifice was a mistake he regrets," Rito murmured. "He offered me the chance to make up for so many thousands of wasted years."

"That's good and all but where have you been all these years? You could have fought back against Flammia's rampage," Rita chided. "You could have aided in saving our home...Rhiannon wouldn't be fighting for her life..."

"Believe you me, Sis, I could have if I thought it was a smart move," Rito said. "But honestly, that wasn't the best play. Me against that army wouldn't have stood a chance. I'm sorry I didn't come home right away, but I figured that the universe was a dangerous place with Evil Kimmie running around conquering planets. It was better to stay out of sight..."

"And off the radar so you could be ready when the time came," Rita said, tears in her eyes. "The Rito I knew is not only not dead, he's back in full."

The older Rangers stood in stunned silence. Apparently, not only did Rito have a good side to him that was laid to waste when Zordon sacrificed himself, but he was all of a sudden the smartest guy in the room!

Even Billy was confused. He was there when Rito had destroyed the Thunder Zords, but that had been more of a fluke win than anything.

Jayden nodded at both of those two, then beckoned the Lost Galaxy Rangers, Dimitria, Diana, and Masked Rider over. Rhiannon had used some of her magic to give them some strength and clean them up a little bit, but they were still in awful shape.

"Those awful, awful monsters," Jayden said, looking at them all sympathetically. "I'd ask what they did to all of you, but I'm not sure I even want to know the details."

All of the former prisoners were in bad shape, but Leo in particular could barely stand. Lacerations covered his body, he had major internal bleeding, and every time he tried to stand up he had a pronounced limp.

"How long and how bad?" Jayden simply asked.

"2009," Leo said; Jayden by simply looking at him wouldn't have been surprised if he had a torn ligament. He was limping bad, and the rest of the Lost Galaxy Rangers minus Mike weren't much better off. "And it's been the worst three years of my life. It's not even close. Flammia is a monster, I'm surprised anyone can stand up to her at this point."

"I can still see them overrunning my home. Until today, I'd lost all hope..." Maya said.

Jayden eyed them with quiet sorrow. They had been rescued but the scars from captivity may never go away.

"2009 for me too," Dex said. "My experience has not been a whole lot better either. I'm surprised she ever loses a fight. Her army is near unstoppable. I want to fight, but my body is still very weak."

"2006 for Dimitria and I and as you can guess, it's been even worse for us. We both have magical abilities so we cannot die completely, but we have never been more in need of good care than we are right now," Diana said.

"Kimberly Hart's evil half is...ruthless," Dimitria added

"I still don't understand half of what's going on, anyways," Kendrix said. "This whole Ninjetti stuff, the Phoenix, Jayden's connection to Tommy, all of this."

"And that's why I'm here," a sing-song voice said as a familiar blue figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Big Blue," Jayden said, referring to Ninjor, who had just appeared from the shadows.

He was followed closely by another figure who the Lost Galaxy Rangers knew very well.

"Mike!" Maya exclaimed. They all wanted to come give Mike a hug but most were too weak to do so.

"You two want to explain to them what's going on? I got to go to the infirmary or Dana here's going to kill me," Jayden said.

"Go. We'll take it from here," Ninjor said, shooing Jayden towards Dana, who promptly whisked him out of sight.

"So it goes like this..." Ninjor said, as he began outlining Jayden's history and true heritage, as well who Flammia had been and how her evil half came to be.

The Lost Galaxy Rangers were in stunned silence when Ninjor was finished. To them, the Ninjetti were only a myth, the stuff of only legends they had heard.

Now, they were standing before today's holders of the Great Power, in the flesh, and the most powerful of them had just saved them all from certain death.

"I knew of Kimberly and her dark side, but I had no clue of the Phoenix and how powerful he was," Dex said. "We owe him."

"I just hope we get healthy enough to get in this fight some day," Leo said. "This is the worst feeling ever...hopeless, injured, and nothing we can really do."

"We will, Leo, we will," Kendrix reassured him. "Flammia's going to pay. For everything."

 **The Mess Hall, later that evening**

After a brief checkup following the initial celebrations, Jayden had been cleared for the most part and had been sent away to rest. And rest for a long while. The last few days had been tough and grueling and he more than anyone else needed rest.

That said, the smiles of the occupants of the Chamber of Command had been far and wide when Tommy informed the rest of the various Ranger teams that he was OK and would be joining them for dinner, once he got the proper rest.

So the ovation he'd received when he walked into the Mess Hall that night was almost as loud as the cheers he'd received when he'd returned earlier that day.

"You OK, man?" Mike said.

"Yeah. That rest took five or six hours, and my sleep clock may be off for a day or two because of it, but it's exactly what I needed," Jayden said. "It's good to be back."

"How's Lauren?" Antonio pointedly asked.

"A little tired, but she's fine. I'd advise going to see her till tomorrow," Jayden said. "She'll need more sleep than I will because, as great as she is, she doesn't have the powers that I possess."

"We all still want to know how you got free in the first place," Aisha said. "When Ethan finally broke through the palace barrier, the only thing we saw is that you were fighting Lauren. Then, Flammia attacked again."

"First thing you need to know is that Mom is still watching over us. Yes, my real mother is still continuing to fight her oppressor against all odds. Thanks in part to you, Kat," Jayden said.

"Me?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, you. You not only fought her to a draw the first time you two faced off, you actually dented her armor. You bruised her ego. She thought you'd be a walk in the park and you dented her confidence," Jayden said.

"Yeah but she kicked my ass real bad today," Kat said. "I'm lucky I'm not hurt beyond repair..."

"That just shows you how desperate she has been," Jayden said. "I think she finally realizes while her forces are big and bad, they can be had."

"Because of the strength she got over her evil half due to your victory, she was actually able to bring me food to get my strength back," Jayden said.

"Yep, in fact, I've got the souvenirs up in my room to prove it," Rito said.

"Don't tell me you brought those back in here, Rito," Jayden scolded. "I'm sure those things stink!"

"Eh, they can be put in the dishwasher and I put them there," Rito said. "They'll be fine once they're cleaned off."

"As to how I got free, fate smiled on me a bit. The cell I was in was cold...colder than cold," Jayden said. "But because I was shackled by chains, they become really brittle in cold conditions. That made it very easy for me to snap them."

"Then when Evil Lauren and her crew tried to come and get me to take me to the arena, I used my invisibility to hide and attack them when they weren't looking. It didn't work for long, but I was able to stall for just enough time for Rito to get back."

"And in the arena, getting your morpher back?" Hunter asked.

"That was partially my invisibility power getting me close, and Rito coming in at just the right time," Jayden said.

Rangers one and all looked at each other, surprise clearly creasing their faces. When Jayden was going for his powers and when he attained them, they saw the talent and raw ability that could be used to combat Flammia's forces.

But now, they were seeing the true underbelly of a leader who knew exactly what he was doing.

He couldn't have escaped that awful Moon Palace on just physical ability alone. No, to escape, he had some help no doubt, but he had clearly outsmarted his competition. His competition being the greatest band of conquerors the Galaxy had ever seen.

"I know you guys want to know how we got Lauren free as well," Rito said. "Well, on Sis and I's home planet of Eltar, there's a potion that can be used to counteract many of Maligore's spells."

"The job Kat did, and Jayden's resilience, bought me just enough time to retrieve that potion, the Flame Extinguisher," Rito said.

"The Flame Extinguisher?" Adam said. "Never heard of it. Zordon never told us about it anyways."

"Yeah, it's pretty powerful. The sad thing is, it can be used only once. And the quest to get to that potion is hard enough as it is."

"You went to Eltar? With it being conquered?" Rita asked.

"Yeah I knew just where to go while being able to stay out of sight. Many of the elder intergalactic beings like Zordon have gone underground, in hiding. They're afraid to fight back because they know they'd be outmatched."

"At first, those old geezers didn't believe me or my story. Fortunately, I kept a locket Sis gave me when we were kids. It was a gift from one of the elders and when that elder recognized it and I outlined the situation, they finally let me go through. It was really hard though," Rito finished.

"I bet," Rita said.

As if to answer the questions that were about to fire up, Rita stood up and looked at the older Rangers.

"Rito and I are in fact brothers from Eltar. His alter ego was in fact the dumb skeleton monster that was made to look like a clown, but Master Vile made him like that for a reason. Zedd and I are still married but he's from another planet. In fact he's from one of the few planets that hasn't been conquered," Rita said.

"When Master Vile captured both Rito and I thousands of years ago, Rito was the smarter of us and Vile knew because he was gifted and smart that he'd turn on him. So he made him into this dumb clown that always lost," Rita added.

"I'll always curse 'Pops' for ruining my life, for dumbing me down to the point where I couldn't understand simple concepts so he could continue to rule over his empire," Rito said.

The older Rangers looked at each other. The way they were hearing things right now, they had actually been pretty fortunate. Rito had beat the Thunder Zords and that was when he was the dumb clown. The smart Rito that was standing before them...wow.

"Is Daddy Dearest still gone?" Rita suddenly said.

"In a word...yes," Rito said. "We ain't gotta worry about him any more. The reversal from Thrax's destruction only applied to those of his family who weren't pure evil, like me, or Ed, I mean, Zedd if he had been involved."

Jayden heard the conversation, but it was like he wasn't listening. The wheels were turning in his mind. He then fixed Rita and Rito with a hard glance.

"You said all the elders on Eltar have gone underground? That they're afraid to fight back?" Jayden asked.

"Yup, all of them are scared to death," Rito said. Rita's face formed a sad expression.

"The hell with that," Jayden said. "Tell them to form resistance armies and fight back. Tell them they have my blessing."

"Jayden, no!" Rhiannon said. "They're all going to get killed! They're totally outnumbered!"

"The longer they have to deal with these resistance factions, on Eltar and anywhere else, the better for us. We agree that Earth is their goal, correct?"

Everyone in the room, to a man and woman, nodded their assent.

"The reason Evil Mom has been able to give us so many issues, or one of them, is that she's been able to focus all of her attention here," Jayden said. "There's no push back from any of the other planets, which means she doesn't have to worry about anywhere else. If there's actual resistance, she can't focus her attention here. And it's a good time to start, by the way."

"Why is that?" Jason asked.

"That last attack wore her down to the point where she had to go to a regenerative device, like what Zedd had before he married Rita," Jayden said. "She will rest for a good while. If there's ever a time to form resistance armies now is it."

"Darien got executed, sadly, but I know many of the people and how to reach them," Rhiannon said, sighing, knowing how bad this could get. "I'll rally them to fight, but we haven't seen Rangers or a true fighting force in thousands of years. It's almost like we forgot how to do it."

"That's OK. Just do it, and tell them to do their best," Jayden said. "They have nothing to lose and the more bodies they take down, it helps us."

"Triforia has been waiting forever for a chance to fight back," Trey said. "I know how to reach the former King even though he went underground. I can send him a coded message."

"Inquiris is not to be messed with. We're afraid of her army, but we want a chance to fight back. King Queary is not dead and I know where he is," Diana said. "I'll tell him to do anything he can to fight back."

"Excuse me, am I missing anything?" a familiar female voice said from the doorway of the mess hall. Rangers one and all whipped their heads around to see Lauren standing in the doorway. A unified cheer went up from the occupants of the room as Jayden went up to embrace his sister.

"Welcome back, big sis," Jayden said. "You feeling OK?"

"A bit tired, but I'll live," Lauren said. "I hope you guys didn't eat all the food."

"Now you're starting to sound like Uncle Rocky," Jayden said, laughing slightly. "I think there's probably still some food left."

"And no, Mentor, she didn't do...that," Jayden said, Ji breathing a sigh of relief. "Mom used her influence to make sure that did not happen."

 **Several Hours Later...**

Jayden's sleep clock had been altered, but he knew it was time to end this day and get some more rest. He still needed it after all he had been through. He knew when he got up the next morning, he was going to be going through the rigors. The last few days of captivity had put him significantly behind in his GED studies.

As he prepared to turn out his lights and call it a night though, he suddenly felt someone in the room with him. Turning around, he saw his sister standing a few feet away.

"Congratulations," Lauren said as she threw herself into Jayden's arms. "And thank you for rescuing me from that awful mind control."

"I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened in the last week or so," Jayden said. "It's no one's fault but Flammia's army and fate itself. Oh, and you're welcome."

"The last time I was myself was what, one week ago, two weeks ago?" Lauren said. "I went to bed that one night, and then when I woke up the next morning and touched my Samuraizer it was like my body was burning up and I had no control of what I was doing."

"So it wasn't while you were in your sleep but close enough," Jayden said.

"Yeah," Lauren said.

"I'm going to be real honest though, Lauren. My personal demon is gone," Jayden said.

"I know. All your life you'd wondered, could you make the grade. Could you live up to the standard set by me, and my parents. You not only lived up to that standard you passed with flying colors," Lauren said. "I don't want you to ever wonder about that anymore. You made me look like an idiot at times back there. I got a couple of 'wins' against you, but let's face it I got lucky those times. You're your own Ranger and perfectly capable of leading us to victory."

"And that's exactly what's going to happen," Jayden said. "We're going to get them. Some day."

 **The Moon Palace**

However, unbeknownst to the Rangers, while Flammia was asleep and the Rangers were celebrating their win, some of her generals were still working on active ways to lure the Rangers into a trap and destroy them.

"So, we have a deal?" Draco boomed into his communicator.

"Indeed," the being on the other end of the phone said. "Let those Power Pukes have their win for now. In approximately three weeks, we will use the full moon along with the close proximity of the Halloween holiday that the Earthlings have to lure the Rangers into a trap that they will never recover from."

"The Rangers will never know what hit them," Draco said. "When the Mistress wakes up, the Earth will be all hers."

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	22. 22: The Resistance Begins

A/N: A very pleasant Saturday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. As this chapter suggests, resistance armies start popping up in this chapter, some with surprising success. Also, Jayden achieves another major milestone, and the bad guys continue to plot to draw the Rangers into a trap.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 22: The Resistance Begins

 **Sunday, October 7, 2012**

 **8:30 a.m. PDT**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

No one would have blamed Jayden if, 24 hours after he'd just gotten himself out of the mouth of hell, if he took one day off to just rest and recuperate.

But that was not how Jayden was wired.

He had been in the training room early that morning as early as 6:30. A few previous Rangers were in the room at various intervals when he was in the room, and they were completely floored.

Half of the Rangers who had served at one point were in the infirmary, the Lost Galaxy Rangers were near the point of no return, Diana and Dimitria were much the same, and here was the Phoenix Ranger, digging deep, getting right back to work. There was no way he could be even close to 100 percent, yet here he was.

Of course, the word had worked its way back through the ranks. And when word filtered back to the Samurai team, they were beyond shocked.

It may have been reckless, but it sent a huge message to all the Ranger teams; losing was not an option. It was leadership by example; do whatever you needed to do to make yourself better or watch yourself get passed by.

So when Jayden walked into the mess hall at 8:30 for breakfast, everyone was looking at him funny. Even Mentor Ji was concerned.

"You should be taking the day off, Jayden, we all should," were the first words out of Mentor Ji's mouth.

"No Mentor," Jayden said. "Believe me, I would rest if I felt there wasn't an attack coming. But they're up to something, I can feel it."

"What are you talking about?" Rita asked. "You remember last night right? That Flammia had to go to the regeneration chamber?"

"Yeah, but just because she's going to recuperate doesn't mean they won't try and attack us at some point," Jayden said. "They're up to something, I can feel it in the air, I'm just not sure what it is yet."

"That's also why I asked for resistance armies also. We need them distracted elsewhere," Jayden added.

"And I'm happy to report that some of us have started on that," another voice said. Jayden smiled as he saw a familiar face enter the mess hall, Rita smiled as well, although she loved badgering her husband for always being the last out of bed.

"Zedd," Jayden said as he recognized instantly the former Emperor of Evil...and Rita's husband. "You have good news to report?"

"I do indeed," Zedd answered. "Word is already starting to go around like wildfire about you calling for resistance armies. Mine as Rita probably told you is a planet that is one of the few that's spared, but word quickly spread back to our planet of the happenings here and what you're asking for."

"I'm happy to report that our King is not only advocating for the same thing you are, but is willing to lend our armies to any planet that needs it. Some are already on their way to Eltar," Zedd said. "After all, we have little to lose."

"I got my message to King Queary back home. We are going to fight back; how successful we will be is unknown," Diana said.

"Triforia is already gathering to strike at them," Trey said. "We are just waiting for the right opportunity."

"In all seriousness though, Jay, take the day off, man," Mike said. "Half of our combined teams are a M*A*S*H unit right now."

"OK, fine, if you guys insist," Jayden said. "But they're up to something, I can feel it. I just can't put my finger on what it is yet."

"For today, don't worry about it," Tommy said, as he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I've said this before, but I think you work yourself too much sometimes. We all need a day off. Take it from me. Use it. We can worry about tomorrow tomorrow."

 **Tuesday, October 9, 2012**

 **The Lunar Palace**

 **Earth's Moon**

The last thing that General Finch had expected when he woke up today was an alert sent to the Palace. He'd made it very clear that Flammia was sleeping, recharging and that only under emergency circumstances should the Palace be contacted.

Yet it was being contacted. He grunted loudly to himself; what could possibly be the problem?

What he was about to see next though completely took him aback as he saw the face of Lieutenant Durrin, who was currently overseeing the armies on Eltar. It looked like there was a skirmish going on nearby too.

"Durrin what the hell is going on over there?" Draco roared.

"Oh God, General, I'm glad I finally got to you. We've got problems!" Durrin said; Finch could feel the concern in his voice, which was exacerbated as in the background, a civilian smashed one of Durrin's footsoldiers with a club. The stress was palpable. "Eltar has started to form some sort of resistance army against us!"

"Crush them like BUGS! There is NO excuse to have any problems with them!" Draco screamed. "We are preparing a surprise for the Phoenix Ranger and we CANNOT afford to have any problems with stupid resistance armies!"

"We are crushing them but they keep coming!" Durrin said. "I don't think they care if they die as long as they give us problems! And speaking of the Phoenix Ranger, my sources tell me apparently resistance armies have formed elsewhere at his behest!"

Draco cursed under his breath. That damned Phoenix was smart indeed. He was going to try to take advantage of Flammia being asleep to try to give her armies problems elsewhere.

"Do what you can," Draco said. "But be informed, I am NOT happy about this, Lieutenant. The last thing we need right now is the Phoenix Ranger giving us any more issues than we need!"

Draco immediately pressed the button that would alert all of the armies at the same time. He was not going to let this thing go on more than they needed to. They had plans for Halloween coming up and they did not need this.

"Armies, hear me NOW!" Draco's voice boomed out. "If you encounter any of these 'resistance' armies that the Phoenix Ranger has requested, KILL THEM ALL! No exceptions!"

"They are under our control and they DO NOT CALL THE SHOTS, YOU DO! Show no mercy!"

Emphatically he pressed the button to end the transmission. Disgusted, he walked back out of the control room.

His armies probably would survive, but he also knew the Phoenix Ranger had in some way achieved his objective. He'd not only caused an unwelcome distraction, he'd literally thrown upcoming plans into at least a little bit of disarray. This whole resistance crap had to stop and fast otherwise their trap they were going to try to set for Halloween may not be as effective.

Stepping out of the control room, he felt a hand go on his shoulder. The monstrous dragon mustered a small smile, seeing that it was Scorpina that had joined him.

"Good job, Draco," she said as the two shared a big hug. "Once again, your exemplary leadership qualities show through."

"I told you back when I joined your army all those years ago that I was going to do everything possible to bring down Zordon's legacy. The Phoenix Ranger is no joke, but I haven't given up hope," Draco said. "Everyone has a weakness. We just have to find it."

 **Wednesday, October 17, 2012**

 **10:00 a.m. PDT**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Over the next week or so, things settled down again for the various Ranger teams. Those that were hurt were still spending much of their time rehabbing, but they were slowly but surely getting better.

As expected, there were no attacks to speak of, but that didn't ease Jayden's worry. In fact, as time went on, the anxiousness was growing. Something was coming; he could feel it.

In the meantime, he'd re-started with his GED studies. His capture had put him behind the eight-ball and for the last week he'd been knee deep in his studies.

That said, he was about to have a day he would not soon forget. And as he walked into the main command room, he could feel how happy everyone in the room was. And that made him happy too.

"So, Mr. GED, how are the studies coming today?" Kevin said.

"Very funny, Kevin," Jayden said, snorting as he did so. "Finally, I think I've managed to almost catch up with my work. Damn Flame of Destruction for putting me behind the eight-ball."

"Caught up enough to where you can take a break so we can show you something?" Rhiannon asked.

"Yeah, I suppose. You have something for me?" Jayden asked.

"Oh do we ever," Kat said, Jason nodding his agreement. Kat had been badly hurt in the last fight, but was getting to where she was close to being able to return to action. In about a month, she'd definitely be ready to fight again.

"Then lead the way," Jayden said.

There were several floors that comprised the Chamber of Command, so it took a while to get where they wanted to take him. But after about 10 to 15 minutes, they finally stopped.

Jayden was confused for a moment, but a few moments later he heard several honks.

"No way. Can't be," he thought.

"Jayden, allow us to introduce you to your brand new car," Trini said as he looked to his right. He was in awe. He'd gotten his driver's license about a month ago, but he had no clue that this was in the works.

It was a beautiful 2012 crimson Cadillac CTS. And in the front seat, he saw his father behind the wheel, with Rocky next to him.

"For you, our leader," Jennifer Collins said, "and for everything you've done and will continue to do. Thank you for being everything a Power Ranger should be."

After about 15 to 20 minutes where Rocky, Tommy and the rest of the first Ranger females showed him the various components of the new car, Jayden said, "Tomorrow I'll take it out for a spin and go into Angel Grove with it. Park it in the garage for now."

Then he turned to Mia and whispered, "You're coming with me tomorrow. We're going to do a little reconaissance tomorrow."

"Is this about what you're sensing?" Mia whispered.

"Yes. We're going to have lunch together and then find out exactly what's going on and then if there's anything fishy we're going to come back and report it. Got it?" Jayden said.

"What if they catch us?" Mia said.

"I've got invisibility which can shield the both of us. Not going to happen," Jayden said.

 **Thursday, October 18, 2012, early afternoon**

 **Downtown Angel Grove, CA**

This was the first time he'd actually been on an unofficial date with Mia, but it felt good.

And it had been a long time in coming. They just hadn't had enough time to go do something since they'd gone their separate ways after the Xandred fiasco, and then after they'd put on the spandex again, it had been a busy month fighting Flammia and her forces.

In a way they still were, but they could at least mix in some fun.

So, at the suggestion of Elizabeth Oliver, Jayden and Mia had gone to a nice bistro near downtown, where they'd spent more than enough time talking about their lives and talking about the hope that they'd shared that they'd still have lives to live after this was all over.

Now as they continued to ride downtown, to heaven knew where for Mia, she asked Jayden, "So when are you going to get your name changed?"

"No clue. That's been in the works for a while. Dad said he was going to try to finish that up soon, hopefully before the Halloween holiday," Jayden said. "He had to push it back because of my being captured in the first place."

"That's going to be a huge milestone...I know we're all going to be there for that," Mia said. "I hear through the grapevine that your aunts and uncles, your first ones, are going to bring their kids for that one."

"Thank you for bringing them up, Mia," Jayden said. "At some point, I'm going to have to have a talk with the aunts and uncles. I got a call from Dulcea not long ago that only I know about."

"How does Dulcea relate to the kids?" Mia said.

"You and the others will find out soon enough," Jayden said.

"I don't like that you're holding things back from me, but I'll let it slide for now," Mia said.

"Believe me, I have my reasons," Jayden said.

Suddenly, as he got near a specific building, his senses prickled.

It was a massive JP Morgan-Chase building. Almost as large as you'd see in some major cities. Then he saw why his senses were prickling.

The JP Morgan-Chase building was right next to a place his father had talked to him about before.

The Specter Theatre. That was the place the Rangers had been trapped in when Zedd and Rita got married.

He hadn't put the pieces together, but he knew this was something bad. Really bad. And he could feel the attack would be coming sooner rather than later.

And as he walked up to the front doors of the JP Morgan-Chase building, he got the forebording sense of knowing exactly where he had to go to find out what was going on.

The basement.

Of course. Out of sight of everyone.

Immediately upon entering the building, the first thing he looked for was a map. He found that, but the problem was that the basement wasn't listed anywhere on the map.

Jayden felt deflated, but his hopes quickly rose when he saw a name of one of the employees.

 _Elizabeth Oliver, Floor Six._

Jayden nodded and went to the front desk.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" a nice lady said.

"Yes. My name is Jayden, this is my girlfriend Mia, and I would like to see Elizabeth Oliver about something. Personal matters," Jayden said.

"OK, let me give her a call," the lady said.

After a few minutes, the lady smiled and said. "She is expecting your arrival. She is on Floor Six."

"Thank you, ma'am. Let's go, Mia," Jayden said.

After a quick meeting with Elizabeth, in which Jayden detailed his reason for coming here and his suspicions, Elizabeth had breathed a sigh of relief, more than happy to help in any way she could. She felt there were creepy things going on in the building that no one noticed too, so she was happy to have some Ranger investigation.

Though she was disappointed to hear that Jayden's suspicions pointed him to the basement, and that the map didn't show a basement, it didn't surprise her. As she told Jayden and Mia, "no one went down there."

That's why there wasn't a map of the basement in the first place.

But for whatever reason, it was still marked in the elevators. Jayden breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Elizabeth and after she wished them good luck, Jayden and Mia were on their way to the elevator that would take them where they needed to go.

After whispering a few instructions to Mia as they went down the elevator, they heard the elevator creak to a stop. As soon as the door opened, Jayden activated his invisibility, which shielded both him and Mia. Then, they both exited the elevator, and carefully, quietly walked into the basement.

Elizabeth hadn't been kidding either. The basement, which was one level below the bank vault, was an absolute ghost town.

By now, Jayden's senses were going haywire. They were getting really, really close.

About ten minutes later, they came to a set of double doors. Jayden knew this was where all the action was taking place because he could hear voices behind there. There were several voices but the primary ones were two males, and a female.

Carefully, he phased himself into a fireball and took Mia and him through the doorway without even opening it. The heat of the fire seared Mia for a moment, but recognizing her as a good holder of the power, then allowed the warmth to course over her without setting her on fire.

What Jayden saw once he got into the room, which looked like a massive amphitheater, it made his blood run cold.

He could see why the activity was down here. The invisiportal network was going crazy. They were working on something.

"Soon, our plan will be ready, Wizard," Draco boomed.

"Indeed it will be," another male voice said. "Those humans like to go trick or treating on Halloween. I wonder how those Rangers would like trick or treating in the Lost Dimension for all eternity?"

Then his blood ran colder. There was his sister...or at least the person he thought was his sister for a moment. No, that couldn't be. Lauren was back at the Chamber of Command.

Then, another piece of history fell in place for Jayden. And he knew why a look-a-like of his sister now existed.

The Wizard of Deception. The being that had almost used a clone of his father to end his father.

"As soon as I infiltrate their ranks, the trap will be snapped shut," the Lauren look-a-like said.

It all fell into place now.

The plan was simple. Have a look-a-like of his sister infiltrate the ranks of the Rangers, then use her to lure the Rangers into a trap...and lure them into the Lost Dimension.

He'd heard it talked about once or twice by his aunts and uncles, but never though it'd be back in play in 2012.

But it was and he'd seen all he'd needed to see.

"Mia, let's go before they notice us. Let's get out of here," Jayden murmured.

Mia nodded. She was too creeped out by everything to take anything more.

The good news though was that they had diagnosed the plan. And they now had the measures to stop it. The mission had been completed without anyone having ever noticed they were there.

"Let's go to the Youth Center and get some stuff," Jayden said. "We're going to surprise everyone back there with smoothies before we give them the bad news."

"I like that idea," Mia said.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	23. 23: Parisian Confrontation

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, the Rangers try to help themselves by keeping the fake Lauren from infiltrating their ranks, only for the Wizard of Deception to take it to another level. Also, Zordon has his long awaited confrontation (albeit in the dream world) with Kimberly's mother Caroline. That's how this chapter title gets its name.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 23: Parisian Confrontation

 **Thursday, October 18, 2012, late afternoon**

 **The Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Jayden's return to the Rangers' Chamber of Command had drawn much cheers, especially from the older Ranger crowd. Because he had brought crowd-pleasers with him.

Ernie's smoothies. On the house. As they would have liked them.

The Angel Grove crowd, because they had various lines of work now, rarely if ever got back to Ernie's for his smoothies. That's why they were so happy when Jayden came back with Mia and his cargo. Not only that, he'd brought various other drinks with him for some of the various other Ranger teams including his Samurai teammates.

There was a little bit of tension in the air though, especially coming from Jayden and that made them all, especially the older crowd, nervous. He'd asked for a meeting in the mess hall so they could talk over smoothies and drinks.

He sounded dead serious when he'd requested this impromptu meeting, and if he was this serious about it that couldn't be good.

Tommy in particular was very nervous. He'd seen the demeanor coming from Jayden before in the previous months since they'd been together. He knew that look.

He was even more nervous when he saw Ninjor, Rita and Zedd in the room. That meant that something was up and that it was serious.

As they all continued sipping on their smoothies, Jayden stepped in front of the massive crowd of Rangers.

"Thanks for coming back on short notice, guys," Jayden said.

"How was the afternoon with Mia, Jay?" Mike said.

"It was great, thanks for asking," Jayden said. "I only wish I could talk about how great it was, but we have a serious situation developing in the basement of the JP Morgan-Chase building downtown," Jayden said.

"The JP Morgan Chase building," Aisha said. "The one where Mama Oliver works?"

"Yes, the very same. And I saw her briefly, she's doing well," Jayden said.

"Wait a minute," Adam said, pondering closely, trying to remember something about that building in his mind...and then it clicked. "Jayden, is that the building right next to the abandoned theater?"

"Yes it is," Jayden said. "And they're using the magical energy from that abandoned theatre, combined with the coming full moon in a couple of weeks and its proximity to Halloween, along with the return of an old foe, to open a gateway to a dimension that I'm sure none of you think still exists."

Immediately, Zedd's face fell. He knew what Jayden was talking about, and Rita immediately embraced her husband, trying to calm him down.

Truth be told though, this situation scared her too.

"To put it very plainly and bluntly, guys, the Lost Dimension is very much back in play, and with an easier doorway to open than when Zedd tried to open it," Jayden said. "They're in the basement of that JP Morgan-Chase building right now waiting to spring that trap."

"Before we get into this Lost Dimension stuff," Rocky said, "who's the old baddie that's back?"

"The Wizard of Deception," Jayden said.

Tommy's blood was boiling.

Not at Jayden, of course, who he loved very much. But that a foe he thought he destroyed was still around.

"I thought I destroyed him!" Tommy said in exasperation.

"Nope, he's back and badder than ever," Mia said.

"I think I have a theory on why," Rita said. "I think I can espouse this theory because I knew the Wizard pretty well."

"As great as the original team was, they didn't have the power then, nor do they have the Power now, to destroy the Wizard completely," Rita said. "When Tommy blasted the Wizard with his wand back in the day he was never destroyed. He simply returned to his own dimension to recharge and recuperate."

"Much like Madame Woe back in the day, Billy," Rita said.

"She's still alive too?" Billy said, eyebrow raised.

"As much as it pains me to say it, yes," Rita said. "But back on topic. There is only one person I know of that COULD have the power to destroy the Wizard for good and I'm looking at him right...now," Rita said.

Jayden gulped. The power to destroy the Wizard of Deception...wow.

"I'll have to have you go see Dulcea in the next week or so, but you are already on the way to unlocking your full potential," Rita said. "You could also be the one to save everyone should worst come to worst and everyone land in that dimension."

He gulped again. That power certainly came with a lot of responsibility.

"What is the Lost Dimension, anyways?" Billy said. "I've heard it talked about, and how scary it is, but I'm not sure I even know what it is."

"To put it very plainly and bluntly," Zedd said, as he fixed the Rangers with serious glances, "it is a network of dimensions, that, normally, has a doorway in, but no doorway out. The more dimensions you go into from the main one, the tougher it is to get out. Back in the day, I was able to open it, but I didn't do it right. The Wizard is unfortunately, a lot smarter than I am."

"What do you mean by that?" Rocky said.

"As the original teams may remember, I opened it in Angel Grove Park when I unleashed Cannon Top," Zedd said. "Had I thought to open it where the Wizard opened it now though, I would have been a lot better off. The doorway is a lot more powerful where he's opened it. In the end, Cannon Top wasn't strong enough, and the doorway was too weak."

"And it's true what Rita said," Zedd added. "If you guys were to land in that dimension, Jayden could actually open a doorway to get you guys back out."

"How difficult would it be to get them out if worst came to worst?" Jayden asked.

"The process isn't insanely difficult but the problem then would be time. After a couple of hours in that dimension, it would be very tough for even the Phoenix to get them out," Zedd said. "Back in the day, if I had successfully trapped you guys in that dimension, it would have been over with. There would have been no way to get you guys back."

"So what is the Wizard of Deception's role in this anyways?" Aisha said. "He's good at opening dimensions, but that really isn't his forte."

"Glad you brought that up, Aisha," Jayden said, looking hard at his sister. "As of right now, there are two Laurens. The Wizard created the second one."

"How is that even possible?" Lauren said. "He was never in the Palace before I left there!"

"It's quite possible that one of Flammia's generals cut a strand of your hair and held on to it for safe keeping in case Jayden or someone else ever got you free," Rito said. "Do you feel a loss of hair?"

"Not really," Lauren said. "I mean, it feels fine."

"It could have been done in the middle of the night, while you were sleeping," Rito said.

"It's OK, Rito, and Lauren, don't beat yourself up. What's important is that the Wizard plans to use her to infiltrate our ranks, open the doorway on the full moon before Halloween and lure us all into the Lost Dimension," Jayden said.

"Well then, that's easy enough, I'll just stay out of the line of fire until we find out the difference between me and my fake doppelganger," Lauren said.

"That's a good idea," Billy said. "Jayden, did you and Mia get any footage of the fake Lauren before you left?"

"No, we didn't," Mia said. "At one point, Jayden had heard enough and got us out of there. Probably for our own good."

"That's OK," Billy said. "The next time she shows her face, I'll have Justin or myself on top of it."

"Have we told them everything they need to know, Jayden?" Mia said.

"I think so," Jayden said. "I need to go work on GED stuff, and I'm sure the cooks need to prepare dinner."

With that, Jayden and Mia left the room, and the Rangers just looked at each other.

"Man, we've got our work cut out for us again," Rocky said.

"One thing's for sure, I should never doubt that kid again," Kat said.

"We all should take that lesson. We all thought he was paranoid," Jason said. "Those fools don't know any better even without their leader. We'll be OK."

For the next week or so, it went on like this. Lauren had appeared once in the city, with the Rangers not coming out, and Billy was trying to identify the difference between the two.

That was, until weirder things started happening, and from the spiritual world Zordon started noticing too.

He hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but it was time to play his card. He was not happy with the person he was about to come face to face with, but this had to be done.

 **Wednesday, October 24, early local time**

 **Paris, France**

If Kimberly being back and attempting to wreck the Earth was hard on her friends, it was torture for Kimberly's mother Caroline Hart.

15 years ago, Kimberly, or 'Cherie' as Caroline had tried to refer to her as, had dropped off the face of the Earth. Caroline had presumed her dead, even though no one knew where she was.

The last two months, watching the world news and her fighting the various Ranger teams, was just killing Caroline from the inside out. How could her sweet child now be such a monster?

She had no idea what happened to Kim, but had no doubt it was her. The face was unmistakable.

 _'And the worst part about it is, had you taken care of her better this would never have happened,'_ she suddenly heard. Was that a voice in her head?

She just shrugged it off and went back to sleep, knowing that she just heard things.

Unfortunately for her, her problems were not over.

 _'Admit it, you know you took care of her terribly. Maybe if you'd have taken care of her better she'd never have needed a surrogate parent,'_ the voice said.

As her body slept, her mind was in another place entirely.

The place was serene, but yet she could feel someone with angry eyes on her.

 _'You are pathetic, Caroline Hart,'_ the voice said. _'More pathetic than I ever dreamed possible. It's a shame you don't truly know the gravity of what you have caused.'_

 **'Excuse me, who in the hell are you to talk to me like that?'**

 _'I'm the one who's trying to save the world, but you can call me Zordon if you like. More importantly though, I'm the one trying to save your daughter, so you need to shut up and listen to me good.'_

 **'My daughter, Cherie? You can help save her from being that monster?'**

 _'Yes, but you're going to have to be willing to help...and you're going to need to be wanted too. Perhaps if you and Kenneth had been better to Kimberly I wouldn't have had to take her in as a Power Ranger in 1993, so she could be part of something bigger than herself.'_

 **'What in the fuck are you talking about?'**

 _'Oh, foolish lady, you are so naive. By the way, don't use such crude language. I can't blame you for being naive as I specifically instructed her and others liker her never to tell anyone that they were any of my Rangers. Here is what you need to know..."_

 **Two Hours Later...**

She might have been wide awake by now, but Caroline Hart had never been more ashamed of herself.

She wouldn't continue to feel this way, but at this point, she almost wished she'd never even been born.

Everything that guy from her dream had said...Zordon or whatever his name was, was correct.

That part of her life had been absolutely terrible and she'd absolutely change it if she could.

But there was no way to.

Ritzy parties, lots of money, worldwide trips...and she'd never taken care of Kimberly well enough that she'd had a good childhood.

That whole thing about the Power Rangers and her being one...she knew Zordon was right about that too.

And it had been a good thing Zordon had taken her in, too. She'd actually made something of herself, been part of something that was special and had avoided the miserable existence that Caroline had become.

And Cherie had been absolutely right not to say anything.

But the bumps, the bruises every night, the random bits of tiredness, it all clicked together. She refused to believe any of that crap at the time...but it sure was believable now.

And Tommy, that redneck Tommy, oh how Zordon had lit into her about what she thought of him. And he was right to do that too.

He'd taken better care of her than she ever had. Had been her rock, her pillar from which she drew strength once upon a time.

And she was especially ashamed that she'd treated her daughter so badly that she had no idea that she had a grandson who was in the process of becoming great.

She knew that Zordon was right to ream her out about that too, because if she had known that Tommy and Cherie were having a son, that she'd have called for an abortion. There was no doubt of that.

The good news, as Zordon had told her, was that she had a chance, albeit infinitesimal, of redeeming herself. But to do that, there was no time to lose. Zordon had given her specific instructions on what to do. So she grabbed a pen, and some paper, and started in on her task...

When it was done one hour later, she left the room. Zordon had specifically told her not to take it to the mail, that he'd transport it out himself.

 **12 noon local time**

 **Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Jayden had tapered down just a bit on the GED studying now that he was two full weeks back into it; he was in a nice rhythm and at the rate he was going, he was going to be ready to take the test some time in the spring.

Just as he was putting his books away, he heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Jayden, mail for you," Rhiannon said as she handed him an envelope.

"That is weird. I never get any mail. Never," Jayden said.

"Yeah, well I have a weird feeling you should read this one. Just a hunch," Rhiannon said as she left.

Carefully, Jayden opened the envelope, took the piece of paper out (which was neatly folded, by the way, and he was impressed with that), and began reading its contents. Upon seeing the beginning of the letter, he almost tore it up on the spot but relented when he saw who spearheaded the writing of the letter in the first place.

As he went through the contents of the letter, worry began to crease his face. He didn't trust this person further than he could throw her, and the person seemed to know that, but Zordon was spearheading getting this warning out. It was that important if Zordon, long since dead, was leading this effort.

The bigger question was: what was Zordon doing with this person, who was obviously unwelcome with the early Ranger teams?

As if to answer his question, he heard a voice in his head.

 **'Because as much as Zordon detests what Caroline Hart did to your mother, he believes in second chances,'** Atsila said. **'Not all of what's going on is her fault, though she shoulders a lot of the blame as well. Everything that's in that letter is true. You and the other Rangers must act fast; the Wizard is indeed striking at your closest friends to try to lure you out. At some point, you must confront them. Take action soon, young Phoenix.'**

Jayden sighed.

It was time to call another meeting. This one wasn't going to be pleasant either.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	24. 24: Halloween Havoc Part I

A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter begins an arc that is as described...havoc on Halloween.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

By the way, I'm sorry for the delay in this update. I've been busy, I just haven't been...here. I live in Houston where we barely survived Harvey, and then a number of weeks ago my Uncle passed away so that delayed this update as well. To all my readers, please pray for all of us in Houston, and pray for my Uncle as well.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 24: Halloween Havoc Part I

 **Wednesday, October 24**

 **Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Jayden knew the older teams wouldn't like what he was about to say. And he was right.

The fact that he had suddenly received a letter from his own grandmother, out of the blue, was causing a lot of dissension especially within the very first teams.

The younger teams, not knowing that much about how deep the feelings of animosity between Caroline Hart and many of Zordon's original Rangers went, just stood back, choosing not to say anything.

"She said WHAT?" Aisha said. "Jayden, you have to be KIDDING me!"

"I'm sorry, Aisha, but it's true," Jayden said sorrowfully. "But you must know that Zordon is spearheading this."

"What in the hell would Zordon want with that pathetic ingrate?" Rocky said forcefully. "The same woman who would have wanted you killed!"

"I'm guessing Zordon believes in second chances, even if I agree with your opinion, Uncle Rock," Jayden said. "I'll read it again, because I know the first time I read it, it caused a lot of dissension. I'm also reading this because it's very important."

Then he took the note again, and read it again, just so they could understand the significance.

 **Dearest Jayden,**

 **You have heard of me, but have never met me.**

 **I am your grandmother. Your Grand-mere, as the French translation goes.**

 **I understand that you do not trust me, and you have every reason not to. I have screwed up in many different avenues, young Phoenix, including where your mother is concerned.**

 **However, the person, the mentor you call Zordon is making me write this. Basically, on pain of death, might I add.**

 **I am here to inform you that Zordon has told me that in Angel Grove itself, friends of yours, and friends of mine are being held hostage by Flammia, or Cherie's, evil army even as she sleeps in recuperation.**

 **You probably understand they are trying to lure you out, and you aren't taking the bait. You are going to have to spring the trap, dear grandson. If you don't spring this trap, many of your friends, and some of mine, will die.**

 **None of us want that on our conscience.**

 **You don't want to fight them, but they are forcing the hand.**

 **Please, I beg of you, be careful when you go fight them, but please do something to stop what they are doing. If you don't want to do it for me, please do it for Zordon and everything he stands for. He chewed me out but I deserve it. He was an honorable mentor for your father and mother.**

 **I wish you the best of luck in bringing Cherie home.**

 **Beaucoup,**

 **Grand-mere Caroline Hart**

Everyone fell silent when Jayden finished reading that letter. All the dissension in the room stopped.

None of them wanted to do it. But they didn't have any choice.

However, before they did anything, they were going to do it on their terms.

Ninjor then suddenly came up and whispered something to Jayden, with Jayden listening very intently. The various teams murmured amongst themselves, wondering what this could all mean.

Finally, the conversation ended, and Jayden turned to face the group, his eyes gazing on one specific person with laser-like focus.

"Trent, come here," Jayden commanded.

"Me?" Trent said, half surprised, and half nervous that he had been summoned so abruptly.

"Yeah," Jayden said. "I need you to do me a favor. As great as the Phoenix powers are you have an ability I don't have. I need you for this, Trent."

"Camouflage?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, and it is my understanding, thanks to Big Blue, when you recovered your powers you added another ability; phasing," Jayden said.

"Namely, the ability to phase in and out of dimensions," Ninjor added. "I didn't even know you had this ability until I was doing some homework on the various powers the teams have, and this was a couple of days ago."

"It is a very rare power," Zedd added as he walked into the room. "Only a select few have this ability. You don't even know it's there, but you have it. With practice you will become better at it, but for now you can use it to help us with our problem."

"Here's the deal," Jayden said. "It is my understanding that amongst the prisoners being held hostage are your old friends, Cassidy and Devin."

Immediately, Conner, Kira, Trent, Ethan, Hayley and Tommy's faces fell. Both of those former students of Reefside were now in the media business, and were very good in fact; one was working for the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, the other one for the ABC affiliate in San Diego.

"I need you to focus on Cassidy and Devin, and memories you have with them. Focus on them with your mind, and that should activate your phasing power. It is my understanding that they are being held in some sort of dimension, not the Lost Dimension, but one nonetheless," Jayden said.

"Once you phase in, your camouflage should kick in as well to protect you from being seen. Find out what we're up against, who is held hostage, how much power I'm going to need to use to get them out, etc. Got it?" Jayden said.

Trent gulped. He knew it was a big job, but he knew he was seen as the redheaded stepchild of the Dino Thunder team. He loved Kira, but Conner had got the girl instead. His father Anton had been evil, and he was unfortunate enough to touch the evil White Dino Gem, which had got him into this in the first place.

Now was his chance, years later, to make his mark. He was a part of Ranger lore, but was seen by some in the immediate family as sort of an outcast.

"Yes sir," Trent said. He knew that failure was not an option.

Focusing his mind totally and completely on Cassidy and Devin and where they were, he began to phase out of the room, sighs of relief going around.

"Activated successfully," Ninjor said. "Now let's wait to see what news he brings back."

"I just know it's gonna be bad," Mia said.

 **With Trent, same time**

Moments later, Trent knew he wasn't on Earth anymore, but somewhere else.

The dimension he had landed in was pitch black, although there were a few things he could hide behind. He probably wouldn't need them, but still.

He also could feel he was near to Cassidy and Devin, and sure enough, he looked to his left, and saw a group of cells not far away.

He was about to head left, but suddenly felt someone touch him on the shoulder. He blanched, wondering if he'd been caught already, but was quickly reassured.

"Hey, Trent, take it easy buddy. It's me, Marah," a voice said, and sure enough, a few seconds later, she made herself visible to him.

"Marah, what are you doing here?" Trent said. "Don't you know you could get caught? Dustin's probably driving himself up a wall right now."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Marah said. "Dustin knows I have Ninja powers now and if weird things start happening, that I'm probably on some mission. Turns out, it's the same one yours is apparently."

"What are yours?"

"Apparently the same thing yours are without the camo," Marah said. "I can phase in and out of dimensions too. This morning, I was in bed with Dustin, and then all of a sudden I'm here."

"And you haven't been caught yet?" Trent said.

"Nope, been using my Ninja powers to keep myself hidden from view. And I've been here for hours," Marah said.

"How many people are there in here?"

"A lot. And with every passing moment and every prisoner they get in here, it gets tougher to get them out," Marah said.

"That's why they sent me in here. To get an estimate of how many people are in here and how much power Jayden needs to use to get them out," Trent said.

"Then let's do it," Marah said.

"Ladies first," Trent said.

"You're so nice."

"Shut up."

Quietly, they crept towards the cells where, they figured, their friends and other civilians were being held prisoner. Within 10 minutes they had arrived, and sure enough, even though a number of minions had walked by, neither of them had seen Trent or Marah yet.

"I'll go left, you go right," Trent whispered. Marah nodded and for a number of minutes, the two split up, carefully counting the number of people. About 15 minutes later, they met back up again and laughed to themselves.

Camouflage and Ninja powers did work wonders. They hadn't been seen once yet but had almost accomplished their mission.

"How many do you think they have prisoner?" Trent whispered.

"Goodness, don't you think 75 to 100 people?" Marah responded. The question remained, how to get them out.

Suddenly, Trent got an idea. He looked at his communicator to find the coordinates, then pressed a few buttons.

"What I just did should have sent the coordinates back to the Chamber of Command. We need to do one more thing."

"What's that?" Marah said.

"We need to lure them out," Trent said. "I have an idea for a fake rescue."

"What do you mean by that?" Marah said.

"Just unlock the doors, don't go in. As many as we can get," Trent said. "I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that if we unlock some of these doors that will set the alarms off. They'll know someone has been in here and they'll attack Angel Grove."

"Genius. Absolutely genius," Marah said.

"Got some keys?" Trent said.

"I always carry two of em, sweetheart," Marah said. "Here, catch."

"Let's go unlock some doors," Trent whispered.

Sure enough, when Trent went left and unlocked the first door, a pair of alarms sitting nearby started blaring furiously.

"I think we did our job," Trent said. "Let's go home and tell them our findings."

Moments later, they teleported out and back to the Chamber of Command, seconds before an enraged Red Samurai clone came storming in.

 **Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012**

 **3 p.m. local time**

 **Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

"You said how many people were in there?" Jayden said.

"About 75, maybe 100," Trent said. "Marah had been in there for hours and saw them bringing prisoners in and out for a while. Some of them including Cassidy and Devin are in really bad shape."

"I know it sucks seeing it, but good job, Trent, you got me the info I needed," Jayden said.

"You can get them out of there?" Trent asked. "That's a lot of people."

"Do you really have to ask that question?" Jayden said. "You know I can. By the way, that fake rescue thing you pulled, pure genius. You needed to do that to make them scared and lure them out."

"Now, what happens?" Emily said.

"Now, we wait."

They didn't have to wait long. 10 minutes later, the alarm sounded.

"Looks like they brought everyone," Justin said, as he pulled up the visual.

"Everyone and the kitchen sink. They seem angry too," Kevin said.

"They're over by the Specter Theatre. Perfect," Jayden said.

"Yeah, that's where the portals should open to get everyone out," Billy said. "Are you sure you can get them out?"

"With the Fire Cannon? Piece of cake. Just keep everyone off me," Jayden said. "Let's do it. It's Morphin Time."

"Triforian Ranger Power."

"Let's Rocket."

"Magna Power."

"Lightspeed Rescue."

"Titanium Power."

"Time for Time Force."

"Quantum Power."

"Wild Access."

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form, Ha."

"Dino Thunder, Power Up, Ha."

"White Ranger, Dino Power."

"Magical Source, Mystic Force."

"Overdrive, Accelerate."

"Jungle Beast, Spirits Unleashed."

"Go, go Samurai."

"Samurai, Gold Power."

The Rangers all teleported out; amazingly enough, this was the first time they all would fight side by side, all at once. This was, obviously, a benefit to Flammia still being out of commission.

As one, they all landed in front of the massive group of monsters...and Samurai clone, weapons in hand. They were outside the evil theatre, so weapons were still at their disposal.

"Well, it's about time you finally showed up," Lieutenant Jorus said.

"And I'd like to know which of you fools was the one that got into our house. I know one of you was in our dimension," Lauren's clone snapped.

"I think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, lady," Emily said. "Need your diaper changed?"

"Oh shut up," Lauren's clone said. "Now which one of you was it?"

"Me," Trent said. "You can try and do something about it but I know you can't beat me."

"Oh is that right?" Lauren's clone said. "I'm going to teach you some respect, little boy."

But under his helmet, Trent was smirking. He knew he had Lauren's clone out of the way; the only way she could be effective in fighting was by facing Jayden or Lauren.

"Attack!" Scorpina shouted as the hordes of monsters charged forward.

"Keep them away from me," Jayden said. "I'll take Scorpina."

"No, Jayden, leave her for me," Mia said.

"She beat you pretty good last time, Mia," Jayden said. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I have a score to settle with her," Mia said. Sure enough, Scorpina had almost made it to Jayden when Mia cut her off and began engaging her.

"Don't think you're getting off easy, Phoenix Ranger," another voice said, Jayden saw Nepa step in front of him, but didn't even blink.

"You again," Jayden said. "Didn't Rito and I kick your ass bad enough on the Moon? Now you want more?"

"Mighty cocky aren't you for someone who's had only a few victories against us," Nepa said. "Nevertheless, you're going down."

In the following skirmish, Nepa fought better against Jayden, but the problem is she was facing a Phoenix Ranger that was at peak strength, both mental and physical. One on one, she was no match. 15 minutes after the skirmish began, it ended when Jayden blocked a weakened punch attempt and disarmed Nepa with the Fire Sword.

Quickly, he checked the battle field. He saw that the various teams were holding their own, but knew he needed to end this sooner rather than later.

"Phoenix Fire Cannon," he called, and the massive crimson cannon appeared in his hands.

Remembering the coordinates that Trent had sent the team and told him about, he knew he had to be precise to open the portal that would get the prisoners out and would probably only get one shot at it.

Waiting until the right, precise moment when the cannon's power grew to critical mass he grabbed the trigger.

"Fire," Jayden called. Lauren's clone broke free of Trent for a split second and rushed at him but was far too late.

When the blast hit the ground, Jayden held his breath, but sure enough, moments later, a massive portal opened and then, people came through the portal in droves, ala the Running of the Bulls in Spain.

Seconds after the last prisoner had come through, a blast rocketed in from out of nowhere and hit the ground in front of the Rangers, sending them all backwards.

"Well done, Rangers, you accomplished what you wanted to," a distinctly male voice said. Tommy growled under his breath and five of the Rangers scowled when they saw the Wizard of Deception walk into view. "But so did we."

"I hope you like searching dimensions, Power Rangers, because before long you'll be doing that to your heart's content. Until next time, ta da," Scorpina said as the villains vanished.

"Is everyone OK?" Jayden asked.

"I think we're all OK, the best question may be are those prisoners OK?" Mia said.

"Yeah, that's going to have to be a priority on the weekend. Tending to some of those who may have been hurt the worst," Jayden said. "In the meantime, let's go back to the Chamber."

But, even as they left, the spot that the Wizard had blasted with his wand was beginning to hum with energy.

In a matter of days, the trap would be set and every living Ranger would be in danger. They'd passed this test, but greater tests were yet to come.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks.**


	25. 25: Halloween Havoc II The New Ninjetti

A/N: A very pleasant Martin Luther King Jr. Day to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter continues an arc that is as described...havoc on Halloween. A new Ninjetti comes into the fold as well.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 25: Halloween Havoc II The New Ninjetti

 **Wednesday, October 24, 2012, early evening**

 **Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

They'd done their job again and saved many of those they loved, but still, no one was celebrating in the Chamber of Command.

The words that the Wizard of Deception had left them with hung heavily in the building, even as business went on as normal.

The good news was that no one had suffered major injury in the last skirmish, and those who maybe still weren't 100 percent were getting to that point. Kat, in fact, was ahead of schedule with her rehab and the rumor was that she might be able to rejoin the Rangers in the next fight.

It was after dinner, and the Rangers were all sitting together watching a rewind of the last fight. The most surprising thing that came out of that fight was the Mia/Scorpina exchange. When they'd first met in August, the veteran lead general of Flammia's army and longtime Ranger nemesis had beat Mia to a pulp.

This time, Mia was holding her own against Scorpina and sometimes, even bested her.

Granted, everyone knew that Mia had worked hard since this whole thing started. But she was actually exceeding what many Rangers thought she could accomplish.

Everyone looked at Jayden, who was replaying the battle in his own mind and thinking about something. No one knew what he was thinking until he gave his next command.

"All Ninjetti Rangers and Mia, you guys stay here. The rest of you may take your leave. Be ready for when we get called again," Jayden said.

By this point, no Ranger dared go against Jayden's orders as he'd become the overall leader of this mission. They all left in a hurry, leaving Jayden alone with his girlfriend and the rest of the Ninjetti.

"Impressive job, Mia," Jayden said as he embraced his girlfriend. "Scorpina is not easy to beat. You handled her wonderfully."

"Thanks, I've worked really hard," Mia said, trying her best to downplay what had just happened. But she had a feeling her attempts were not going to work.

She was right.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I buy that," Jayden said.

"Me either. No one beats Scorpina like that unless you're really good. I mean really good," Billy said. "There's something else afoot here."

"Have you ever thought about being a Ninjetti, Mia?" Jayden suddenly asked. Mia couldn't hide her surprise. She'd never really thought about that kind of thing.

"Can't say I have," Mia said. "I must tell you though, I think those powers are incredible. Those are powers I could only dream of attaining."

"I don't know, Mia. I sort of think you have the stuff for it," Jayden said. "In fact, I kind of think a trip to Phaedos might be in order for you."

"Me, a Ninjetti. Just...no," Mia said.

"Actually, Mia, I think I agree," Aisha said. "Yes, the Ninjetti is the greatest power you could ever hope to attain. It's not easy. Only a select few have ever done it. But I think you deserve a chance. We could all vouch on your behalf as well."

"I agree with them too, Mia," another voice said. The Rangers turned in surprise to see Ninjor walking into the room.

"Come on," Mia said. "I mean, I'm just doing my job."

"You really don't give yourself enough credit, do you?" Ninjor said.

"Between what's going on with Jayden trying to get his family back, my broken relationship with my mother, etc. there are times when I feel like the worst person ever," Mia said, tears forming in her eyes. Every one of the veteran Rangers looked at her in sorrow; they knew that when she and Jayden became close, she never asked for this.

"I know, it's hard," Kat said. "You have no idea how much bloody shit I've had to put up with over the years. I feel for you. It's heartbreaking."

"Just...at least try it, Mia," Ninjor said. "I see something in you that makes me think you could do it."

"And if it somehow doesn't work, you can still continue your duties as a Samurai Ranger. Either way, the team benefits because we have you," Adam said. "I can't lie to you, I'd love to see you become one of us though."

"Tell you what, I'll go to Dulcea tomorrow and vouch for you, and we'll see what she says," Ninjor said.

 **"There is no need, Rangers,"** a haunting voice suddenly echoed through the room.

Moments later, the ethereal form of Dulcea appeared in the room.

"Dulcea, aren't you supposed to be on the plateau?" Billy said.

 **"Normally, yes, but there are times when I choose to use this form for important situations, like this one right here. I can stay in this form for a few minutes without it affecting my age,"** Dulcea said.

 **"And Mia,"** Dulcea said, **"I agree with them. I don't know if you would acquire the Great Power, but I too see something in you that makes me think you should at least travel here and try."**

Mia nodded her head numbly. If the Master Warrior herself thought she had a shot, there was no reason to not try for it.

"OK, in a couple days, we'll go," Mia said. "I think Jayden should come with, but the rest of you should stay here. Defend Angel Grove from an attack," Mia said.

"That seems fair," Tommy said.

"I'll do it, Dulcea," Mia said.

 **"Very good, Mia. I will see you soon. May the Power protect you** **,"** Dulcea said as her form faded out.

"Congratulations, Mia," Jayden said.

"Yeah, but there's only one problem," Mia said. "Who gets my Samuraizer if I get the Ninjetti powers?"

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, they would all find that answer very soon.

 **Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, about mid-morning**

 **Angel Grove Park**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

It was well known amongst the Ranger teams that Mentor Ji, the erstwhile mentor to the Samurai team, liked to go out for fresh air in the mornings.

California had a lot of places where you could do that. But Angel Grove in the morning hours was particularly nice. He still preferred Panorama City, of course, but Angel Grove Park in the mornings was something he enjoyed going to especially since he didn't cook breakfast much anymore.

Today was a little different though, as he had mixed emotions. The rumors were running rampant that the current Pink Samurai Ranger, Mia, was possibly good enough to be a Ninjetti.

Which was great for her, as had been evidenced by Jayden's performance so far since he'd gotten his freakishly awesome powers. But it would leave the Samurai team at a disadvantage.

He was in the middle of his thoughts when he suddenly heard something - it sounded like someone crying. Curiosity got the better of Mentor Ji so he decided to investigate. His path took him past several benches, around a playground set, until about five minutes later he found the source...a most familiar source.

There, in front of him was Makiko Watanabe, Mia's mother. And she was visibly upset about something...what he knew not. It was really sad though. He had mentored Makiko many years ago just like he had mentored her daughter Mia. Both were very similar, yet theirs was a family torn apart.

He knew that he was going to have to have this talk with Makiko some day but by the looks of things, it was going to be a lot different from how he anticipated.

"Funny finding you here," Mentor said, deciding to take the bull by the horns so to speak. "You seem quite upset."

Lifting her head up ever so slightly, Makiko's Asian features went from sadness, to confusion, to surprise all in a few seconds.

"Mentor, is that..." she said.

"Yes, it's me," Mentor Ji responded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt, you know I wouldn't. What seems to be the trouble?"

"I..I've hurt everyone I love..." Makiko said, barely able to spit out the words through choked tears. "The world is in danger and it's my fault that Mia has to go through this...I was wrong, so wrong..."

Mentor Ji could only guess that Makiko had been one of those stuck in captivity until the Rangers got them out yesterday. What Makiko said next only confirmed it.

"After what they did yesterday...I'm doing making any accusations. Jayden is a real leader, unlike what I thought of him...he should never have gone through that..."

Mentor Ji's heart was breaking for the older Pink Ranger who he'd once mentored, but at the same time was very happy his team wouldn't have to go through any sort of dissension.

"Makiko, you're as strong a woman as I've ever known," Mentor said. "We all make mistakes, but at least you figured it out on your own..."

"Yes, but I feel like I need to do something. I need to help in some way. I just don't know how to repair things...Jayden is upset with me, and has every right to be..."

"I heard my name called," a voice suddenly said from behind both individuals. Both turned in surprise to see Jayden standing behind them.

"I thought you were studying for the GED?" Mentor Ji said.

"Been at it three hours or so. Taking a break. Atsila told me to come here," Jayden responded. To Makiko's surprise, Jayden put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I forgive you," he said, much to her shock. "No really, I do. I know how much you miss my adopted mother and father, and I know how much they meant to you. I also know how hard it is to fathom that your baby girl is in love. I understand. In 20 or 25 years from now, if I live that long, I'd probably feel the same way about my child being in love."

"Being in that dimension was one of the most scary things I've ever felt in my life. I felt trapped like a rat, like I was never going to get out. Thank you," Makiko said. "And thank you for never complaining about any of my ridiculous outbursts. You may be a Ninjetti but you've proven you're just as much a part of my family as much as anyone else. You're a true hero. I just wish there was something I could do rather than just say all these things..."

"Actually, yes, there is something you can do for me," Jayden said. "We've determined there's a chance Mia could get an upgrade in her powers, become Ninjetti. We might possibly need a Pink Samurai Ranger in the near future..."

"As a matter of fact, Mia has a younger sister who has been training her whole life for this very moment," Makiko said. "I will speak to her and see how she feels about this..."

"Thank you, and I know how much you must be going through after being trapped," Jayden said. "I was trapped up on the Moon and tortured not long ago. I know how it feels to be staring right in the face of the Angel of Death and survive. It's not easy. You're a strong woman and I'll continue to make you proud."

 **Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, early in the morning**

 **Rangers Chamber of Command**

 **Angel Grove, CA**

Two days later, the stage was set for possibly another big moment in this war.

Jayden had been in the spotlight pretty much from the outset of this mission, but today was Mia's day.

It floored her to see, as she was getting ready to be teleported to Phaedos on this Saturday, how much support she had. The Samurai team, once they'd heard of the recent developments, were especially proud. The Samurai were loyal to their own but also realistic; they'd seen what Jayden could do with his powers. The thought of Mia with Ninjetti powers was almost too good to be true.

But what really floored Mia was the renewed support she'd got from her mother, who had come to the Chamber of Command on Thursday night, and mother and daughter had patched things up very, very quickly. A very heavy burden had been lifted from Mia's shoulders at that point, knowing she had her mother's support again...and very possibly a solution to her potential Samurai Ranger problem.

"You ready to go?" Jayden asked her as the two prepared to teleport, with all the Ranger teams watching.

"Very much so," Mia said. Unveiling a black box given to her by Makiko, she took her Samuraizer, and folding Turtle Zord, and put them both in the box.

"That's for just in case I'm successful with my quest," Mia said. "We have the next in line ready to go in case my quest is successful."

"Good luck, Mia," Mentor Ji said.

"Billy, teleport us," Jayden said.

"Got it," Billy said, and in two columns of crimson and white light, Jayden and Mia vanished.

"I hope Mia knows what she's getting into," Rocky said.

"She does, you know she's strong," Aisha said, squeezing her husband's hand in assurance. "She'll be fine."

Their departure, however, did not go unnoticed.

 **Phaedos**

Moments later, both Jayden and Mia landed in nearly the same place that Jayden had landed before.

"Geez, how do you guys get used to that?" Mia said. "That was the weirdest feeling."

"Yeah, I get it. Teleporting is a bitch the first time you do it," Jayden said. "After a while you get used to it but after the first time."

"You're also going to get used to your destruction," a voice said from behind Jayden and Mia. Jayden whipped his head around lightning fast and groaned inwardly.

Scorpina and 30 Tengas.

Somehow, he doubted this was one of Dulcea's tests.

"I mean this sincerely, Scorpina, I've got no time for your bullshit today. Get lost," Jayden snapped.

"Too bad for you that we're not going to let you get another Ninjetti in your ranks, much less your girlfriend. We've got too much planned for you to let this get in the way. I'm going to gut her before she can even get to the Temple," Scorpina retorted.

"That's what you think," another voice, highly accented, echoed through the canyon as a small owl appeared on a nearby perch, then started to transform into the Master Warrior herself and immediately stepped up next to Jayden and Mia.

"Not one of your tests, Dulcea?" Jayden said.

"Nope. This time it's an actual attack; they're trying to stop Mia from reaching the Monolith."

"Get behind me, young Mia," Dulcea said, turning to her next. "Try as best you can to stay out of harm's way."

"It's going to be a pleasure ending your life too, Dulcea," Scorpina said.

"That's what you've always said, yet here I stand," Dulcea said.

"Ninja powers," she told Jayden. "Don't go full morph unless necessary."

Jayden nodded back and said, "Ninja Ranger Power, now!"

This transformed Jayden into his Ninja robes, colored in crimson.

"Phoenix Fire Sword," he said as he and Dulcea readied themselves.

"Get them!" Scorpina ordered.

The fight was quick and decisive; between the two of them, they kept Scorpina and her goons away from Mia enough and then finally, went on the offensive enough to end Scorpina's hope of derailing Mia's quest.

"You win this day, Rangers, but will soon meet your defeat. Enjoy," Scorpina said as she vanished with the beaten Tengas.

Creeping out from behind a rock, where she hid at one point during the battle, Mia walked up to Jayden and embraced him, then next shook hands with the Master Warrior.

"It's a pleasure to finally see you, Mia," Dulcea said. "I've been hoping for this day ever since Jayden received his powers, but didn't dream it would come."

"It's an honor to meet you too, Dulcea," Mia said. "What happened to this place?"

"At one point this planet was lively and bustling. Wars and tragedies have hindered this planet so much over the years," Dulcea said. "Let's go see about those possible powers of yours, shall we?"

About 15 minutes later, the three walked up to the ancient temple ruins. Mia was in awe...and still, so was Jayden even though he'd been here. It was breathtaking every time.

As Dulcea prepared for the ceremony and Mia's moment of truth, Jayden looked hard at his girlfriend.

"Mia, for this to work, you're really going to need to concentrate. There's an animal spirit in every one of us that is waiting to be released. You need to close your eyes and find it, so it can be released," Jayden said.

For Mia though, this was nothing new. Inner spirit and meditating was a large part of the Samurai life, so she knew how to handle introspective thinking.

Sure enough, right as Dulcea was ready, Mia found the spot she needed to get to inside herself, and the flames shot up high into the sky.

When the flames died down, Jayden looked at his girlfriend and thought, 'yep, told ya.'

She was dressed like all the rest of the Ninjetti, only this time the color of her robe was turquoise.

"Mia Watanabe, it is as Jayden and I both suspected," Dulcea said. "You are the Dove, peaceful and gentle."

"Dulcea," Mia said, "what is my quest? I know there probably is one, but is it at all like Jayden's?"

"No, it is not at all like his, because no power has ever been like his. Yours will simply be like the first six Earth Ninjetti had; you will have to journey to the Monolith to claim your powers in full."

"You should probably go back," Dulcea told Jayden. "I will handle this from here."

Jayden, to be honest, hated going back, he wanted to stay by his girlfriend's side, but he knew as great as he was he was under Dulcea as far as taking orders.

But, to be honest, if anyone could get there and fight her way through hell and high water it was his girlfriend.

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Jayden said as he embraced Mia. "You gonna be OK?"

"You know I will," Mia said, though to be honest she was more hopeful with that statement than anything because she didn't know what she'd be facing on the way.

As he hit the teleportation button to go back home, he hoped to the high heavens that this wasn't the last time he'd see his girlfriend.

Ever.

 **Rangers Chamber of Command, about two hours later**

In a way, it was fortunate that Lauren had been turned evil for a short period of time.

In that time, she'd acquired some powers that, even though she'd come back to the side of good, had stuck with her.

One of these was the art of projection. She'd used it against Jayden in the dungeon up on the Moon, which he hated back then.

Now, he loved it, because it allowed him to keep in touch with Mia's quest. Lauren, of course, was happy to oblige not just because it was her brother, but Mia was her teammate, even though the Samurai powers had been transferred seamlessly.

Jayden had already met Mia's younger sister, Myakka, who was only about a year or two younger than Mia...and she was even more of a firebrand than Mia was if that was possible.

Myakka was uber-talented though, and Jayden after meeting her about an hour or so ago knew that the Pink Samuraizer would be in good hands.

As for Mia, currently she was at the point of the quest that Adam had once called "Jurassic Park" back in the day. Jayden had read about that in one of the books in the Chamber of Command's library.

"Your senses are bristling," Lauren said, but she soon realized Jayden wasn't even listening. He was deep in thought; his senses were bristling and he was busy trying to talk to Mia over a connection which was even stronger than before.

Sure enough, when the same bag of dino bones tried to ambush Mia as it had the Rangers 17 years ago, she was ready, as if she knew what was coming.

Jayden could already see what the plan was, make that bag of bones chase Mia and her speed until he got tired a bit, then pluck that bone his father did years ago.

Jayden could see early on though that Mia would have to change plans. Mr. Bag of Bones was quick himself, and had come close to ending Mia about three or four times.

At some point in the battle, he saw Mia scoot up a tree. Jayden gasped.

 **'No, please, no, don't do this, Mia,'** he thought. The way he saw it, if she attempted a kamikaze dive, she'd get ate up.

"What is she thinking?" Lauren said. Finally, Jayden turned to Lauren and said, "I don't know, Lauren. This seems pretty risky."

Jayden then gasped as he saw Mia fly out of the trees, literally, wings spread from her back just like he had.

Using her newfound Power of Air, she furtively flew around the dinosaur, making his head spin every which way. Finally, she flew over his back one last time and grabbed the bone, causing the monster to fall apart instantly.

 **'That girlfriend of yours is pretty awesome, kiddo,'** a voice suddenly sounded in his head.

 **'Mom, is that you?'** Jayden thought.

 **'Hey, kiddo, yeah it's me. You enjoying the show?'**

 **'Sure am, that was pretty neat. You guys do anything like that when you went up against that guy?'**

 **Your Uncle Rocky ran up a tree, but none of us ever flew out of a tree. Your girlfriend is extremely impressive and she's only had those powers a few hours.'**

 **'You're watching this...you mean to tell me your evil spawn's not 100 percent yet?'**

 **'No, remember you gave it a pretty good beating. My Flammia side will be out of commission I think at least another week or so.'**

From that point forward, Jayden, in mind and spirit, and his mother's good half, watched closely as Mia continued on through the Neola Jungle to the Monolith.

 **'How did you feel standing in front of the Monolith all those years ago?'** Jayden asked Kimberly through his connection.

 **'Intimidated. By the way, you need to tell Mia not to get too close, like now!'** his mother's good half responded.

Quickly, Jayden refocused on his connection with his girlfriend. The warning had come not a second too soon because at that point, the guardians of the Monolith had been activated.

 **'How hard are they to beat?'** Jayden asked Kimberly.

 **'Intimidating but they're dumb. Mia can outsmart them,'** Kimberly said.

Quickly, Jayden sent another mental message to his girlfriend, who suddenly changed tactics. Using her speed, she eventually flew off a tree and used a powerful kick to send two of the five guardians tumbling into a lake below, taking them out of the fight immediately.

Angry about the demise of two of his friends, another guardian charged Mia. Bad mistake, she was ready.

"Turquoise Dove Crossbow," she called, and a weapon similar to the Power Bow formed n her hands. "Fire Mode."

Jayden watched in pure amazement as Mia loaded an arrow suddenly tinged with crimson Phoenix fire. When Mia pulled the string, the arrow careened right towards the guardian, who wasn't able to get out of the way, and his body lit on fire until it burnt to ash. Another guardian tried to sneak up behind her and impale her, but Mia sensed it all the way and flipped him over her head.

"Turquoise Dove Wind Storm," Mia called. Much like Jayden, her wings began flapping, creating a massive wind storm which the guardian could not get out of the way of. He crashed into the wall, disintegrating into a million pieces.

There was one guardian left, who came at her with weapon held high ready to chop her head off. But this time, Mia let her wings pick her up off the ground and careened towards the last guardian. One kick sent his weapon out of his hand, the next kick sent him, too, flying into the wall.

"Just like Dr. Oliver said, Eight ball, corner pocket," Jayden heard Mia say. Jayden groaned; he knew his father was gonna tease Mia to no end for stealing his lines.

Suddenly, the Monolith began to shake and open, and suddenly a haunting voice could be heard by all watching.

 **'Congratulations, young Mia,'** the voice, distinctly female, said. **'What happens should worst come to worst? Would you be willing to save the life of your boyfriend, even if it costs you yours?'**

"Absolutely," he heard Mia say. "The Samurai are a selfless people. We care for others almost more than we do ourselves. Whatever it takes to keep Jayden alive, is what I will do."

 **'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with how close you and Jayden are; the Falcon and Crane were once that close years ago. I pray that we will bring them home.'**

 **'Excellent answer, and congratulations. I am Chenoa, your spirit animal. Chenoa, literally means dove in Native American. Come to me, young Mia.'**

What happened next floored Jayden, and made his mother simply smile because she'd been through this. A brilliant light surrounded Mia, and when it was over, she stood in full Ranger uniform.

 **'This is huge, Jayden,'** Kimberly suddenly told him. **'Your chances of freeing me from this hell just went up exponentially and my Flammia half is too beat up to even know it. This is awesome.'**

 **'Yeah, but you shouldn't be revealing much,'** Jayden said. **'Besides, we have a dangerous test to get through Monday night.'**

 **'Indeed. It will take all of your intelligence to defeat what's coming, and it will most likely take Mia's new powers too. Good luck, kiddo. May the Power protect you.'**

The Phoenix knew there was still a long way to go in this war, and that they could lose it all Monday night and through Halloween. But one thing was sure. He'd never felt as pumped up as he was now...maybe ever.

"Bring it on, boys," Jayden muttered to himself. "Bring it on."

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